Cranford Country Park

We are pleased to welcome visitors to Cranford Park following our Heritage Lottery Fund supported restoration project.

Facilities include a car park, children's playground, an orienteering course and nature trails. (Toilets and information centre are temporarily unavailable.)

 

Work is still underway at our newly built cafe building above the historic cellars.

This 144 acre (58 hectares) park has a number of historical features including a walled garden, Ha-ha, a restored 18th century stable block, and the medieval St Dunstan's Church.

The natural areas in the park include ancient woodlands, wildflower meadows and wetlands that comprise of marshland, ditches and ponds. The River Crane also flows through the park.

Watch to see our virtual heritage site tour.

Access information

• 4 disabled parking bays are available at the northeastern corner of the car park
• All parking is free of charge
• Step free route from car park to café building

Experience our access model tour

Access the fully accessibility guide for Cranford Park

Facilities

• Bridle route
• Car parking
• Children's play area
• Friends Group
• Hillingdon Trail
• Orchard
• Orienteering route

For events and activities, please see the Hillingdon Culture and Heritage magazine or visit Discover Hillingdon.

Travelling to the site

Travelling by car:

Satnav - Search for 'Cranford Parkway Interchange'.

When using Satnav/Apple maps/ Google maps please ensure that it is directing you to the northern entrance of the park (off the roundabout between the A312 and M4). There is no vehicle entrance at the south end of the park.

The entrance road to Cranford Park is just before the west bound slip road for the M4.

Travelling by bus:

The nearest bus stop to the site of Cranford House is in Roseville Road for the E6. When leaving the bus, turn south down Roseville Road. Take the footpath running alongside 147a Roseville Road and proceed through the underpass beneath the M4 motorway.

Travelling by train:

Hayes & Harlington 1.2 miles. Leave by the Station Road exit and turn south, crossing over the railway lines. Continue until a left turn on to Nestle Avenue. At the end of Nestle Avenue turn south down North Hyde Gardens. Use the traffic lights to cross to the south side of North Hyde Road and eat east to the entrance to Roseville Road. Proceed south along Roseville Road until reaching 147a. Here travel south along the footpath under the M4 motorway and into Cranford Park.

The history of Cranford Park

Originally the site of two medieval manors, one of which was controlled by the Knights Templar and Hospitaller, it passed from church to private ownership during the reformation.

After the dissolution of the monasteries both manors were confiscated by Henry VIII, who presented them to Andrew, Lord Windsor and they remained in the Windsor family until 1594.

In 1604 the park was brought by Sir Roger Aston, an officer of the Court of James I. He held the impressive offices of Barber, Gentleman of the Bedchamber and Keeper of the Great Wardrobe. He would have served the king closely as the profession of barber was allied to that of a modern-day surgeon.

In 1618 after the death of Sir Roger, Lady Elizabeth Berkeley, widow of Sir Thomas Berkeley, purchased the park for £7,000. We know that during this period the park had a dovecote, icehouse, brew house, dairy, granary, dog kennels, rectory, lodge house, windmill skittle ground, croquet lawn, wilderness and several orchards.

George Berkeley, the 1^st Earl, was a founding member of the Royal African Company and a member of the East India Company. The 3^rd Earl, James Berkeley, served as the First Lord of the Admiralty from 1717 to 1727.

The 5^th Earl of Berkeley and his wife Mary stand out amongst the residents of Cranford Park. Fredrick Augustus Berkeley inherited the title of Earl of Berkeley in 1755 and held it until his death in 1810. His marriage to Mary Cole, also known as Mary Tudor, the daughter of a Gloucester butcher was a constant cause of controversy. The date of their wedding was disputed, with the earliest confirmed date taking place in 1796, by which point they already had six children with a seventh on the way. At this time, the family's doctor was Edward Jenner, a man more famous now for developing the first vaccines.

The Earl was famous for other eccentricities. This included his public statements on highwaymen, where he claimed that it wasn't a disgrace to be overcome by superior numbers, but that he would never surrender to a lone assailant. Allegedly this theory was tested whilst travelling across Hounslow Heath. Stopped by a lone highway man the Earl is reported to have looked over the man's shoulder and told him he could see his accomplices hiding in the shadows. The man, who was alone, panicked at the thought that someone was behind him and turned to see who it was. As he did, the Earl is said to have pulled out his own pistol and shot the highwayman dead.

Following a period of near abandonment, which started when the Berkeley's quit the site in 1918, the main house was demolished in 1945 leaving only the cellars, stables, stable courtyard, kitchen garden and ha-ha surviving.

Archeology in Cranford Park

As part of the National Lottery Heritage Fund supported restoration project a four-year community archaeology project was undertaken in Cranford Park. This video covers the last year of the excavations, the incredible work of our community volunteers, and the amazing finds they made.

The wildlife of Cranford Park

Watch our video to learn about Cranford Park's flora and fungi, and meet some of the incredible wildlife that inhabit this green oasis in between the busy roads near Heathrow.