Monument record MDR12679 - Bardolf's Park, Dale Road, Ockbrook

Two separate enclosures in the parish of Ockbrook became parks in the medieval period. North of the village, Bartlewood Lodge and Bartlewood Farm lie within a parcel of land which is the suggested location of Bardolf's Park. Fieldwork has identified a long, curving banked boundary, clearly visible and stretching northwards from Moor Lane Farm as far as Bartlewood Farm. This marks the western extent of the park, the northern and eastern boundaries of which are less easy to determine. In the 12th century Bardolf's Park reached as far as the 'wood of Ockbrook', which is today marked as a marrow strip along the steep slope of Dale Hills to the north, but may have extended significantly further south at that time. Two curving hedge-lines edging on to Piggin Wood, close to The Fields and Moor Lane Farm, could complete the boundary of the park. The park had been created by Thomas Bardolf of Wormegay who acquired the demesne manor by marriage in 1166. The Bardolfs remained tenants in chief until 1406 when the manor was forfeited to the crown for rebellion (although in fact official returns suggest the Bardolfs held the manor until 1427). (1)