Neglect of Cedars Park Heritage Walls

Cedars Park is the former site of Theobalds Palace, and several aged walls, some of which are Scheduled Monuments, remain in the park today. Some of these were given preservative treatment using funds from the Heritage Lottery and English Heritage in the first half of the 2010s, however today a large number of the walls have undergone severe damage - one segment of a wall even collapsed in 2019(?) and has not yet been reconstructed, and other structures are crumbling and likely also at risk of collapse. Weed control in walls is also very poor, which may contribute to faster structural deterioration. It may only be a matter of time before someone is seriously injured. These walls were previously listed on English Heritage's "At Risk" register, however they were removed from this register for an unexplained reason - they are clearly at risk, evidenced by collapsing.

The structures in Cedars Park are a part of Hertfordshire's history, as well as of national importance, and it would be a tragedy and a disgrace to see all of these walls eventually disappear.

Please write comments by e-mail to cedarspark@mail.com to show your support in getting the council to do the obvious right thing and take the appropriate measures to have our historic walls properly preserved.

Damaged Walls

Map and details

Missing details will be added soon.

No. Photo Comment
1
2 Note the overgrown weeds. Several small trees even grew from seeds that had fallen from above (which were cut down late 2021) - a sign of how long the wall has been left unrepaired! A sticker reads 'Robyland Ltd', a construction company. We appreciate that COVID-19 may have caused delays in 2020, however there is no excuse for the wall still being unrepaired in 2022!
3
4 Bricks missing or damaged at the bottom.
5 Damaged from children and vandals removing loose bricks. Risk of bricks falling onto children below.
6
7 Large hole, possibly affecting the structural integrity of this wall.
8 Bricks have fallen out or been removed. These holes should be filled or the bricks replaced.
9
10
11
12
13 Large chunk of wall missing. Other bricks may fall out or be pulled out and this part of the wall could become more prone to collapse.
N/A Wall on Theobalds Lane. Looking from outside the park (the other side is the Woodland Walk forest, where weed control is difficult). Mysterious missing part at top is unsightly and should be repaired with replacement bricks.