The woodlands cover a significant area of the estate, supporting a rich diversity of habitats and species. They range from traditionally managed coppice, pollards and standard tree woodland to commercial conifer and mixed broadleaved woodland. All are managed using continuous cover forestry and a minimum‑intervention approach, ensuring long‑term resilience and sustainability.
Environmental stewardship is central to our woodland management. This varied landscape provides vital refuge for a wide range of wildlife while contributing to the health and productivity of the estate. Hatfield Park’s woodlands enhance biodiversity and deliver sustainable timber, while also offering wider benefits, including:
- Permissive and public access for recreation and enjoyment
- Carbon capture through their role as a natural carbon sink
- Enhancement of the estate’s historic landscape
- Support for physical and mental wellbeing
The Deer Park
There have been deer parks at Hatfield Park since the 13th century when the park was under the control of the Bishops of Ely. The two main deer parks were known as Innyings Park and Middle Park. A survey taken while Princess Elizabeth was living in the Old Palace in 1551 shows a total of 145 deer. These were probably fallow deer. When Robert Cecil was building Hatfield House in 1610 he purchased fourteen red deer from Lincolnshire and from then on the parks held both fallow and red deer. In medieval times deer parks were used mainly as venison farms and for hunting. By 1624 the number of deer had risen at Hatfield to 626 animals. Fallow deer are known as bucks and does, whilst red deer are stags and hinds.
Sadly, due to necessity, most of the herd was culled during the First World War. However, the family were keen to see deer back again at Hatfield and in the mid 1990’s a new deer park was created on the South Front. The first consignment of deer arrived in January 1997 from Buxted Park in Sussex, followed by others from Surrey, Cumbria and Norfolk. Today the deer herd averages around 160 in number.
All the deer are of a variety known as menil fallow. This strain has been used in deer parks for centuries due to their beautiful light colouration. By selecting animals from all over England we were able to provide a diverse gene pool for the future.
The deer provide a beautiful complement to Hatfield Park and can be viewed from the South Front viewing gallery.