• Login
• Admin

Bestwick, Susan (2019) Welbeck Park: the impact of landscape management on parkland animals 1769 TO 1879. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.

PDF (Thesis - as examined) - Repository staff only - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader Download (12MB) Request Thesis

Abstract

Eighteenth and nineteenth century landscape parks have been the focus of scholarly attention by historians and geographers from differing perspectives. parkland studies have included landscape and garden design, political and economic aspects, farming and forestry. This thesis takes a different approach as the key aim of the study is to discover the impact of landscape management within Welbeck Park, Nottinghamshire, on parkland animals. The thesis examines the tenures of the 3rd to the 5th Dukes of Portland, 1769-1879 by means of a case study approach. This will enable the close study of parkland animals and the implications of landscape change at Welbeck from an environmental perspective.

The interests and financial positions of the three Dukes are seen as essential to the thesis in order to contextualise the changing aspects of parkland management. Consecutive chapters will address the management of grazing animals such as deer, sheep, cattle and horses, the breeding and rearing of game birds as well as all aspects of pisciculture within the park. The study focuses upon the particular animals chosen because they relate to the main parkland landscape features such as grassland, agricultural land, woodland and waterscapes. The principal resources for this thesis are the Portland archival collection at the University of Nottingham Manuscripts and Special Collections, and the Portland papers at Nottinghamshire County Council archives. The rich archival sources used include estate and gamekeeper records as well the diary of the steward to the 3rd Duke of Portland. This material is invaluable and underused because it gives insight into the day to day management of the park, including the animals which inhabited the parkland.

It is now understood that historical parkland provides important habitats for a diversity of species and NGOs such as the National Trust, Natural England and regional Wildlife Trusts are working to preserve the long-term environmental management of landscape parks Also, it is known that historical parkland has a higher ratio of priority habitats compared to the wider landscape, the ecology of these habitats is crucial to the survival of threatened species. The findings from this thesis will inform future policies and the conservation efforts of various NGOs regarding parkland ecosystems and habitats. The thesis will also contribute to the study of the environmental history of English parkland, which has been overlooked and undervalued as a site of ecological importance.

Item Type:	Thesis (University of Nottingham only) (PhD)
Supervisors:	Seymour, Susanne Watkins, Charles
Keywords:	Welbeck Park, parkland animals, landscape management
Subjects:	D History - General and Old World > DA Great Britain G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GF Human ecology. Anthropogeography
Faculties/Schools:	UK Campuses > Faculty of Social Sciences, Law and Education > School of Geography
Item ID:	59445
Depositing User:	Bestwick, Sue
Date Deposited:	07 Apr 2020 09:40
Last Modified:	06 May 2020 09:04
URI:	https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/59445

Actions (Archive Staff Only)

Edit View