The Glen

The Glen is a 6 acre public woodland park leading from open countryside towards the heart of Honiton.  The Glen is in a valley through which the Glen Stream flows towards the River Gissage. The Lower Glen was given to the people of Honiton by Major H H Lilley to commemorate the 1935 Silver Jubilee of King George V. The gates and ashlar granite gate piers mark the entrance to the park. Trees were planted by local school children to mark the occasion and several still stand today. Major Lilleys hope that the Higher Glen would be added to the park has been achieved recently.Additional  land has been acquired and a large open sloping site on the south west side is a welcome addition, as is the Millennium Green which adjoins The Glen, although not strictly a part of the park.

Late c19 and early C20 postcards show The Glen as it was laid out in the late C19. The Victorians built woodland walks, cascades, waterfalls and bridges in this steep sided valley alongside the stream but the paths have long since disappeared and the banks are now inaccessible.  However, there are two paths running alongside the stream affording views of the stream and waterfalls.  Further down the slope the old leat and the stream run either side of the lower footpath,  providing a very attractive feature in the woodland park.  The old leat in the Lower Glen is centuries old and provided water for the town centre until the 1970s.

The Glen is associated with one of Honiton's leading families, the Ashleys of Pine Park House on Parsonage Lane, which separated the Pine Park Estate from the grounds of' a former Honiton rectory.  The former rectory, just south of The Glen's present boundary, also had a water garden which led on to the Higher Glen's cascades, weirs and rustic bridges. 

A feasibility study and conservation management plan was produced in 2004 with the aim of restoring the area.  The Friends of The Glen aim to regenerate the site and volunteer working parties have cleared the overgrown laurels, letting light into the valley for the first time in many years.