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Educational Offer
Bring your nursery, school or college to one of Essex Wildlife Trust’s outstanding education facilities or we can bring our expertise to you.
Exploring the great outdoors is incredibly worthwhile for all ages. Students will gain knowledge and develop practical skills through programmes linked to the curriculum or make use of numerous enrichment opportunities at our education centres or at your site. We cater for all ages and abilities. We also offer: Forest School, schools outreach and INSET training.
As well as the website link above, you could also look at our activities here: www.wildlifewatch.org.uk/Learning and www.wildlifewatch.org.uk/activities.
Links to Topic Activities
Site Contact Details
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Email: learnbed@essexwt.org.uk
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Tel: 01708748646
Location
Broxhill Road Havering-atte-Bower Essex RM4 1QH
Site Summary
- 97 hectares (215 acres) , one of Havering’s largest parks.
- Green Flag status since 2007.
- Historic parkland, trees, lake and walled kitchen garden.
- Designated Local Nature Reserve.
- Home to a herd of captive red deer.
- Variety of habitats, from small blocks of scrub to large areas of woodland.
- Panoramic views over East London.
- Visitor centre.
Site History
- In the 18th century Bedfords was owned by a wealthy lawyer called John Heaton, who planted the garden with clumps of trees and plantations of oak, chestnut and various evergreen firs, laid out with gravel walks winding through them. There were many exotic trees, such as Cedar of Lebanon, Holm Oak, Monkey-puzzle, Giant Redwood and Yew. It had a two-acre walled kitchen garden enclosed in 12 foot high brick walls.
- In 1933 Bedfords was sold to Romford Urban District Council for £9,000. It was opened as a public park with the mansion house used as a museum and art gallery.
- During the Second World War the house was occupied by military forces and as a base for the Home Defence.
- The mansion house began to crumble and was damaged even more by vandals, so it was demolished in 1958.
Land of the Fanns Teacher Briefing
Some sites have a Teacher Briefing available at the top of the page, but the following download is a general Teacher Briefing for The Land of the Fanns. We recommend you download this briefing before visiting any of the sites listed on this resource.
Download Teacher BriefingGallery
Landscape and Habitat
Mature woodland, Wildflower meadows, Ponds, streams, lake and marshy areas.
Wildlife
Captive herd of Red Deer, Wild deer - Fallow, Roe and Muntjac
Bird highlights include all three species of Woodpecker, Nuthatch and Hobby, and in winter a large corvid roost, with hundreds of Rooks, Crows and Jackdaws gathering near the deer pen.
The meadows and ponds provide superb habitats for a variety of invertebrates including a wide variety of butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies.
Plants and Trees
Cuckoo Flower, Pignut and Ragged Robin in the Spring.
Many exotic trees originally planted in the mansion gardens still survive, such as Cedar of Lebanon, Holm Oak, Monkey-puzzle, Giant Redwood and Yew.
