Stanmer Park’s history is to be investigated through a new study combining archive research, drone work and geophysical surveys.
The project will examine the landscape around one of Brighton and Hove’s best-known green spaces, looking for evidence that could help explain how the estate developed and how it should be cared for.
Brighton and Hove City Council is working with Historic England, with Stantec delivering the study. Funding comes through Countryside Stewardship.
What will researchers look for?
The council’s announcement says the work will investigate early occupation and features associated with periods including the Roman era and the Second World War.
Researchers will combine documentary evidence with site walkovers and survey techniques. The purpose is to investigate what survives and improve understanding of the park; the announcement is not a report of newly discovered Roman remains.
Findings are intended to inform conservation and management, with public articles, updates and an interactive StoryMap planned to share the results. A launch date for that map has not been announced.
A landscape with several histories
Stanmer’s heritage extends beyond the house. Historic England’s register entry describes an 18th-century landscaped park and records advice from landscape designer Charles Bridgeman during the 1720s.
The park and garden are registered at Grade II. This is a designation for the historic landscape, separate from the listing of individual buildings.
The estate also retains evidence of the village and agricultural activity. Read together, its buildings, routes, planting and earthworks can reveal how people lived and worked here, rather than presenting the site solely as the setting for a country house.
During the Second World War, the estate was requisitioned and used for military purposes, including a firing range. Historic England records wartime tree loss and later damage caused by the 1987 storm, followed by replanting.
Why the research matters for the park’s future
Historic England’s Heritage at Risk entry describes Stanmer’s condition as generally satisfactory with localised problems, and its trend as improving.
That assessment helps explain why new research has a practical purpose. Understanding where historic features survive can inform decisions about repairs, landscape management and changes to the estate.
For regular visitors, the eventual StoryMap could provide a way to connect familiar paths and buildings with the less visible history beneath and around them. The next substantive development will be the survey findings and the council’s account of how they will influence conservation work.
