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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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March 2010 Schedule
The new Hylands Horses schedule for March is available to download by clicking here. This month sees the return of Carriage Rides, plus continued logging in the woods, and harnessing and plaiting demonstrations in the Visitor Centre.
February 2010 Schedule
The new Hylands Horses schedule for February is available to download using the link below or by clicking here. This month the horses continue this winter's forestry work on the Estate's woodlands. In addition we are running a day of traditional plaiting demonstrations, plus a logging demo outside Hylands House, and there is an opportunity to see the horses having thier feet trimmed by an Equine Podiatrist. Download the PDF to find out more!
Horse Logging at High Woods - February 2010
We will be undertaking a days forestry work at High Woods Country Park in Colchester on Tuesday 2nd February 2010. The aim is to extract Sycamore which is being thinned from a steep and remote area of the woods, to enable it to be used in the Park. The aim of the thinning is to increase the diversity of species within the compartment, and thus requires a sensitive approach, making Holly and George ideal for the job.
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