Langley Park, Chedgrave, (also known as Langley Park School), Norwich, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

Langley Hall was built in the 1730s for Richard Berney on land previously belonging to Langley Abbey. It would appear to have been built on a virgin site, according to an undated map of 1730 (private collection) which shows only enclosed fields in the area. The Hall was laid out with 9 acres (around 3.75 hectares) of gardens, a 25 hectare park, and axial avenues radiating north and south. The estate was purchased in 1738 by George Proctor who commissioned Matthew Brettingham to remodel the Hall. In 1745 the estate passed to Sir William Beauchamp-Proctor who completed the building work and, in 1765, commissioned Lancelot Brown (1716-83) to advise on the landscape. Brown's plan (private collection) shows only the area north of the Hall but it is thought his activities included alterations to the south park as well (Williamson 1998). In 1785 the architect John Soane (1753-1837) produced designs for new entrance lodges which were built to adorn the new serpentine drives shown on an estate map drawn in 1816 (Norfolk Records Office). The Beauchamp-Proctors made few changes to the park during the 19th century although the southern part was under arable cultivation for much of this time, being returned to pasture only at the end of the century. The gardens to the north of the Hall were given an elaborate formal character during the mid-19th century. During the Second World War the Hall was used by the army, the park was ploughed, and the gardens simplified. After the war the Beauchamp-Proctor family sold the estate into divided ownership, the Hall and grounds being purchased by a private school and the remainder of the park and its lodges sold as separate lots. This remains the pattern of ownership today (1999).