20 December 2018
Historic England has announced that Campus West designed landscape, Heslington has joined its listing of historic parks and gardens.
The University of York Campus West designed landscape was laid out from 1963-1980 It is a high-quality post-war university landscape that fulfils the architects’ masterplan vision of creating a town in miniature with a pedestrianised environment.
One of the key features of the landscape is the lake, which has two small islands, a courtyard pool and a fountain which form a central focal point at the heart of the campus. Offering bursts of green against the surrounding concrete structures are the lake features, reed beds and lily pads, which were introduced to improve water purity. The landscape is relatively unaltered since it was laid out and the design successfully integrates the new landscape with the historic Heslington Hall gardens.
It was designed by distinguished mid-20th century architects Andrew Derbyshire and Maurice Lee of RMJM with Frank Clark, the co-founders of the Garden History Society (now The Garden Trust).
