CAUSE Countryside Ramble

A 3-mile walk along public footpaths around the ASRs North-West of Bishop’s Stortford. Come and see the land CAUSE is trying to protect from development.

Published September 1999 (updated Apr 2002)
by CAUSE (Campaign Against Unsustainable Stortford Expansion)
www.ChantryResidents.org.uk/CAUSE/

The walk begins at the Rye Street car park at Grange Paddocks.

• (1) Cedar Court used to be Rye St Hospital, built by the Frere family in 1906 on land donated by Sir Walter Gilbey. The Queen Mother, then Duchess of York, opened a new wing in 1933. The hospital closed in 1979.

Turn right along Rye Street for 300 metres.

• (2) Stane St, the Roman road from Colchester to Braughing, ran over the Meads. There is thought to have been a Roman fort here to defend the river crossing, around which a township developed. The construction of the swimming pool in the 1970’s revealed Roman rubbish pits containing pottery and a coin.

Turn left into Foxdells Lane.

• (3) The building to the left was The Grange. Before WW1, this was the home of Sir John Barker, founder of the famous Knightsbridge store. He entertained Lloyd George there. 20 gardeners were employed and there were glasshouses, a carnation house and a stovehouse for orchids and palms. Peaches were grown against the brick wall skirting Foxdells Lane.

Walk up Foxdells Lane to the blue house.

• (4) From the corner here, the fields ahead and to your left are ASR3. The fields to your right are ASR4, and beyond that, up to the A120 bypass is ASR5. Together, these make up an area of proposed housing over three times the size of Bishop’s Park.

Bear left along Whitehall Lane. After 150 metres, turn right up a wooded mud track. Beyond the cottage on the right, take the footpath (signposted Farnham). Walk first beside the hedge, then continue in a straight line across the middle of the field down to Bourne Brook and up across the next field to a gap in the hedge.

• (5) Looking back, the fields you have just walked across are only a small part of ASR3.

Continue in the same direction (with the hedge on your right) to where the path turns right alongside the A120 bypass. Follow the fence to the underpass.

• (6) The A120 bypass was built in the 1970’s to prevent gridlock in the town centre. Its effectiveness would be severely reduced by the proposed access roads from the ASRs.

Go through the underpass. Continue to a concrete drive and turn left. Continue up the drive with the Horse Gallop on your left. Where the fence starts on your left, cross the horse gallop and the open grass to the stile in the far corner. Cross the stile and proceed across the next field towards the underpass. Cross another stile and turn left through the underpass. At the gate turn sharp right and continue along the footpath keeping the wood to your left. (Ignore the white arrows painted on some of the trees)

• (7) Hoggate’s Wood is designated as an Ancient Woodland by English Nature. It is comprised of Hornbeam and Oak, with some coppicing. Hoggate’s Wood was probably named after a family of this surname. A Richard Hogate appears in parish records in the late 16th century. In the 1860’s, this area of land was the property of Capt John Fairman, commandant of the 1st Herts Light Horse who trained in barracks at Silver Leys. The corps was disbanded after Fairman fled the country leaving debts of £137,108 12s 11d. Despite a reward of £500, Fairman was never seen again. The regimental stag from the barracks is now displayed over Boardman’s shop.

After about 230 metres the path clips the corner of the wood. Cross the Bourne Brook and up out along the edge of the wood again.

• (8) Looking towards the water tower, the land between this point and the Tesco’s roundabout, over 1 km away, comprises ASRs 1 & 2.

Continue along the path to the corner of the field. Turn left along the footpath keeping the fence on your left until you reach Dane O'Coys Road. Turn left along the Road.

• (9) The origin of this strange name is not at all clear. It appears on some 19th C documents as “Denny Coys”, and in the 16th C as “Dene a Coy”. Suggestions include derivation from a personal name, or “dene” meaning “valley”. The large hump in the field on the left is the remains of the WW2 airraid shelter built for the Gilbey’s of Whitehall.

Turn right down the Rhododendron Walk, signposted as a public footpath.

• (10) This was planted as an ornamental carriage drive to Whitehall.

Walk down the path until it levels out, when it is crossed by another footpath. Turn left and walk along the back of the cricket pitch and up the hill to the children's play area.

• (11) The cricket club has played here since its foundation in 1825. The woods to the left were successfully saved from a previous threat of development in 1993.

Leave the children's play area at the corner of Cricketfield Lane and Barrells Down Road.

• (12) In Victorian days Cricketfield Lane was densely shaded by overhanging trees, and named “Love Lane” on maps until well into the 1900’s.

Walk towards the town along Barrells Down Road for about 50 metres, then turn left down Galloway Road.

• (13) Cricketfield Lane and Galloway Road follow the line of Roman Stane Street. Documents from the early 17th century refer to this place as “Gallows Hill”, suggesting a macabre history. In the gardens on either side of the road can be seen evidence of the excavations made by the brick works at the end of the 19th century.

At the bottom, cross Rye Street.

• (14) In the 18th century, Rye and Barley for malting were brought into town from the north. Stortford sold more malt to London than Hertford and Ware put together. The upkeep of certain major roads (turnpikes) was paid for by tolls, and milestones (such as the one opposite Galloway Rd, marked for Bury St Edmunds) were introduced for travellers to check their fare distance.

Turn left along Rye St to Grange Paddocks.

Alternative Route

Follow the instructions for the main route as far as Whitehall Lane. At the end of Whitehall Lane, turn right into Whitehall Road.

• (15) Throughout the 19th century a Windmill and adjoining Bakery (both now demolished) stood on the east side of Barrells Down Rd, opposite Whitehall Rd. Only the single storey cart shed remains, converted to a bungalow.

At the end of Whitehall Road, turn left along Dane O'Coys Road.

• (16) On the left is Whitehall. Sir John Barker built Dane House for his daughter Ann when she married Tresham Gilbey in 1886, but when she did not like it, he built Whitehall instead. In 1987 Whitehall was the site of a Shadow Cabinet meeting.

Continue along Dane O’Coys Road.

• Please read the interest notes in the main route for (10) the Rhododendron walk, (9) the Airraid shelter, and (7) Hoggate’s Wood. All the fields to the right hand side of Dane O’Coys Rd between Hoggate’s Wood and Dane O’Coys Farm are part of ASR2. Beyond that, up to Tesco’s roundabout is ASR1.

Turn left along Cricketfield Lane (12), past the cricket ground (11). Continue to the children's play area at the junction of Cricketfield Lane and Barrells Down Road. Turn left into Barrells Down Road and right into Lindsey Road. Lindsey Rd will take you back down to Grange Paddocks car park.

What are the ASRs?

Five “Areas of Special Restraint” were designated within the A120 bypass in order to reserve them for airport-related housing, with an adjacent "Special Countryside Area" (SCA) as a strategic reserve for development in the longer term. Following compaigning by CAUSE, EHDC now propose to redesignate the SCA as Greenbelt. However, this is just a small step, and more still needs to be done to protect the rest of this land from becoming yet another large housing estate.

The aim of CAUSE is to prevent any further large-scale housing development having an adverse impact on the town of Bishop’s Stortford.