Unveiling of memorial at Castle Hill Country Park

Saturday, 5 November 2022 00:00

There will be an official unveiling on Sunday 13th of November, at 3 pm, of a new memorial at Castle Hill Country Park, and members of the public are invited to attend.

In 2018, on the centenary of the end of the First World War, trees were planted at Castle Hill Country Park, which has now become a woodland memorial to those who gave their lives fighting for their country. Now, as the Woodland matures, we will be returning to place a memorial plaque marking the significance of the site. A hundred-year-old chestnut ‘monolith’ was sourced from Stourhead Estates and will be installed this month.

Parish Councillor Lesley Waller, who has been involved with the development of a public open space behind Bishopdown Farm, says, “Daily, we are reminded of the horrors of war by the situation in Ukraine, so it is timely to think about all the people who sacrificed their lives during WW1 whether at the frontline or on the home front. Planting the first Oak tree in this wood back in 2018 was an honour for me, one I treasure. We will remember them, and we do.”

In March 2019, Barratt Homes transferred the Country Park to Laverstock & Ford Parish Council, and following consultation with residents, the name Castle Hill Country Park was chosen. The history of the area and proximity to Old Sarum HIllfort and Old Sarum Airfield formed a large part of the design, with interpretive Iron Age play features, a miz-maize, and a memorial woodland included in the features formed by re-profiling 15 hectares of the site with approximately 90,000 tonnes of spoil from the Riverdown Park development for habitat creation.

Today, Castle Hill features popular walks and running routes, a much-loved dog agility field, a trim trail, a play park, a picnic area and ball sports court, a mountain biking area, and the memorial woodland; a peaceful spot for catching sight of birds of prey and planes landing and taking off from the nearby historic WW1 Old Sarum Airfield. Castle Hill Country Park is leased by The Land Trust which manages it.

We hope that residents will join us to commemorate those whose lives were lost during WW1 and to look forward and consider the lessons learned and the questions posed by all wars and conflicts around the world.“

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