CONSERVING HISTORY AND NATURE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
Chetwynd Deer Park was certainly in need of restoration and conservation in 1988 when the Newport and District Agricultural Society stepped in to acquire it.

Chetwynd Deer Park was part of the Chetwynd Estate, details of which are recorded in the Domesday Book. Chetwynd was an important manor in Saxon times and was held by Leofric, Earl of Mercia, who founded Much Wenlock Priory in about 1050. His widow, Lady Godiva of Coventry fame, may have lived in an earlier Chetwynd House or Hall. The Chetwynd family itself held the manor from the 12th century and after various successions and changes in ownership, it was finally purchased by the Burton Borough family in 1803. Colonel J G Borough, the last Squire at Chetwynd, died in 1960 without heirs and the Estate was left to one of the University Colleges. However Colonel Borough's widow remained on the Estate as a life tenant until her death in 1987.

After the Borough family acquired the Chetwynd Estate, they created the Deer Park to house their existing herd of some 100 fallow deer which they brought up from Southern England. The Park included open grassland, a 20 acre pool and some of Shropshire's finest ancient woodland and in its heyday must have been a magnificent sight. However, like many landed estates, gradual economic pressure and decline resulted in there being a lack of funding to finance its continuing maintenance. Regretfully, despite the best efforts of those managing it at the time, the Deer Park fell into a state of disrepair and by 1988, the Pool had become increasingly silted up and buildings, including Pool Lodge and the Victorian Boat House, together with the Estate's unique sandstone well, had succumbed to the rigours of time and nature.

Using their own funds and without help from any external sources, the Newport and District Agricultural Society set about the task of restoring the Park to its former glory and at the same time, creating what is acknowledged to be one of the most beautiful show grounds in the country. As a not for profit organisation, the Society has been able to devote the surpluses generated from shows over the years, together with funds from its Boughey Memorial Endowment, to finance the restoration of the parklands, the preservation and management of the ancient woodlands and the management of the 200 year old deer herd.

From the very outset, the project has been one where the local community has been heavily involved. Indeed the massive initial ground clearance in 1989 was a joint operation between a dozen or so local volunteer farmers and their sons with tractors, trailers, diggers and dozers.

The Society is justly proud of what has been achieved over the last 18 years and the condition of the Deer Park is a testament to the team who look after it now. With the grasslands and woodlands actively managed and maintained and the deer herd thriving, nature is once again the cornerstone of the Park. Pool Lodge, which is a listed building, has been restored to its former glory and is a classic and rare example of the beautiful sandstone cottages which were dotted about the original Estate.

Much still remains to be done with nearly 3 miles of sandstone walls and the sandstone well to be renovated, the 20 acre pool to be dredged and the Victorian Boat House still to be restored. However, the Society's aim is to ensure that the Deer Park will always be available as a magnificent and protected natural resource for future generations to visit and enjoy.

The Society would like to learn more of the in depth history of the Park and obtain any early photographs for their archive. If you have any information or printed material or photographs we could copy, please let us know using any of the contact information points listed under the Contact Information tab above.