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Welcome to the home of the Hylands Horses Project. The project is a partnership between Chelmsford Borough Council, Hawthorn Heavy Horses and Writtle College to return working horses to the Hylands Estate. Located on the outskirts of Chelmsford, Essex, Hylands House and the newly opened Stables Centre is a stunning heritage venue set in 574 acres of Grade II* listed parkland.
Using rare breed Suffolk Punch horses, we aim to support the management of the Hylands Estate by providing environmentally sensitive management and visitor attractions, including carriage rides, grass cutting, harrowing, timber extraction and heavy horse related educational talks.
The horses are usually at Hylands on Sundays and Mondays, although this may vary due to special events. To find out more please click our diary link on the right of the page.
Project History
The Hylands Estate consists of 574 acres of important grade 11* listed parkland, and is the largest area of public open space in the borough. Chelmsford Borough Council purchased the estate in 1966 (under the Physical Training and Recreation Act of 1937) when the house and other estate buildings were in a very dilapidated condition, with an uncertain future.
Following stage one and two applications, CBC was delighted to hear back in March 2003 that the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) approved a grant towards the Hylands Estate restoration project in the region of £3.2 million. The Councils Executive Committee also supported the project and approved the remaining funding for the project, and entered into contract with the HLF in February 2004.
The work covered the restoration of the Repton landscape, including parts of the Pleasure Gardens, the Serpentine Lake, final phase of the Hylands House restoration, the relocation and improvements to the estate grounds' maintenance depot at Home Farm, repairs to flint cottage, and the conversion of the listed stable block to form a new visitor centre. This work was completed by 2006.
The final part of the HLF project was to reintroduce heavy working horses back to Hylands. A partnership was formed between Chelmsford Borough Council, Writtle College and Hawthorn Heavy Horses to provide the technical expertise to ensure that the project will succeed. The project then commenced in May 2008, and the horses first arrived at Hylands in June. Holly and George are Suffolk Punch horses and were chosen because they are the local heavy horse breed, and also because they were resident on the estate during it’s last period of private ownership by Mrs Hanbury from 1922 to 1962. Local people still talk of the Suffolks who were used at Hylands and on the surrounding farms, and it is a real achievement to have them back and working.
The horses will add value to the Hylands visitor experience in various ways, such as for example:-
- Their presence in the Stable Block, the parkland and at other times in Home Farm.
- Available on special event days to provide carriage rides for visitors
- Used to carry out traditional estate management works such as grass cutting, woodland management / logging, clearance etc.
- To promote the estate and the horses at shows and other public events, and to seek possible sponsorship and grants
- To assist in the interpretation of the Stable Block and estate
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January Schedule
The January schedule is now available for download here. We are continuing the winter's forestry work with Holly, and have begun training Roy and Fergie on the estate. We are also running a Heavy Horse Driving Experience day.
Hylands Firewood
Bags of firewood logs produced by the Hylands Horses are available from the Stables Visitor Centre. These are the same size as the ones commonly found on forecourts of Garages, and are priced at £3 each. The logs are excellent quality hardwood, mainly Hornbeam and Ash, which are produced from the sustainable coppicing that we are now doing on the estate to conserve the valuable woodland habitats at Hylands. In addition it is very sustainable with very little carbon used in it's production, making it possibly the most environmentally freindly fuel in Essex!
Another New Arrival!
On 27th August we were joined by the newest member of our team! Holbeache Free Spirit, better known as Fergie, is a 5 year old gelding, originally bred by Mike Clarke of Trimpley, Worcestershire. Fergie has spent most of his life in a herd environment and has had little handling, so we purchased him earlier in the summer and since then has been having some basic training, and has recently started to have harness on. His arrival at Hylands marks the next stage in his development. There will be a lot for him to get used to, with some many people and new things to see, but he has a lovely nature and we are sure that given time he is going to make an excellent addition to our team.
New Arrival
On 21st April we welcomed a new Suffolk Punch to Hylands. Easton Roy is a 2 year-old gelding, and having been trained to harness by Nigel Oakley of Rede Hall Farm Park, will now continue his training with us over the next 18 months. It is very exciting to have such a young Suffolk with us, and he is very much enjoying the new field and can be seen galloping and bucking about in the sunshine! He can also be found taking regular naps after tiring himself out!
New Field
We are pleased to annouce that the Horses can now be seen grazing at Hylands Park. Their new field is very close to the Stables Visitor Centre, and gives the public much more access to see them on days when they are not working. We would encourage you to go and see them, but kindly ask that you refrain from feeding them as it is very important for their training that they are only fed by us, and additional feeds, even carrots and apples, can make them ill as they are on a very carefully controlled diet. Thank You.
Sadly we have to announce the George is retiring on 6th November and going to a new home in Suffolk. His leg injury has proved to be more extensive than we hoped, and so he will be going to a new home where he can take time to recover as well as possible, and then be used for light work when he is ready. We will miss him greatly, but are very happy with his new home and know he will be well cared for.
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