Parks and Gardens

Devon Gardens Trust, like other county gardens trusts, seeks to protect and conserve the historic designed landscape. This includes gardens, parkland, cemeteries and public parks.  Historic England states, 'Historic parks and gardens are a fragile and finite resource: they can easily be damaged beyond repair or lost forever. From town gardens and public parks to the great country estates, such places are an important, distinctive, and much cherished part of our inheritance and we have a duty to care for them.'  Nationwide, there are over 1650 sites on the Historic England Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England (click here to access the Historic England website), assessed to be of national importance. In Devon there are 56 sites included in the Register, five of which are at Grade I, being of exceptional importance, fifteen at Grade II*, which indicates that the site is 'particularly important, of more than special interest', and the rest are Grade II of 'special interest, warranting every effort to preserve [it].' In addition, there are over 180 parks, gardens and cemeteries listed in the Devon Gazetteer of Parks and Gardens of Local Historic Interest, which are important designed landscapes in the local context of Devon; 39 are of national importance and merit inclusion on the Historic England Register at Grade II (of special interest warranting every effort to preserve them). To be included in the Devon Gazetteer, sites must satisfy one or more of the following:

• illustrates some particular aspect of the history of gardens, designed landscapes, parks, cemeteries, horticulture or places of recreation.
• provides examples of the work of a particular designer of note.
• has features from a particular period or style.
• has known garden archaeological significance but has not necessarily been excavated.

The sites on the Devon Gazetteer are 'heritage assets’ and are included on the List of Heritage Assets compiled by Local Planning Authorities; as such they are a material consideration when considering planning applications.  Responses made by DGT's conservation officer to planning applications affecting heritage assets on the Devon Gazetteer are accessible on local authority planning portals. The Devon Gazetteer includes a wide range of designed landscapes, most of which are in private ownership and, as the Trust respects the owner's right to privacy, details given on this website is information either already in the public domain or where the owner has given permission.