Themes - Woodland

A few years later another survey stated that Belper Park now had only under woods of older hazel and hawthorn, but it is not clear if this survey was incomplete or reflects a great wastage. Certainly a document of 1581 refers to oaks and we believe that the Raven Oak itself survived until about 1835. What appears to be a nineteenth century painting of the Parks shows the Raven Oak. Its site can be easily traced today and is marked by brambles. Its name is commemorated in "Raven Oak Close".

In the 19th century, long after Belper Park, had ceased to function as such, we find that it contained five areas of woodland, fortunately despite building encroachment, all but one of these still remain within the Local Nature Reserve today and one can still find all the historic trees there, oak (including some large trees), beech, hazel and holly.

The Great Park (the largest area of woodland with large oaks)
Lady Well Park, named after the Lady Well, once Belper's main water supply from which enterprising locals used to sell water about the town. It was also a favourite picnic resort. It was converted into a reservoir in 1886 the area it was located in is still privately owned, but most of the old Lady Well Park is still accessible as the wooded slopes of the Coppice Brook.

The Little Park :- Shrogg's Wood, later known as Catt Wood. This is the one wood that has been lost beneath the houses of the Parks Estate.
Plantation:- Probably as its name suggests, a modern (circa 1800 ?)plantation of trees along the steep banks below Jubilee Court.
All these woods were shown on the Belper Tithe Maps of 1844.

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