Art in the Park

Sunday, 20 September 2026

Art in the Park: Broomfield Park, 15 September 2026

Fifteen artists made it to the park despite the travel obstacles with buses and trains cancelled or delayed. The weather was rather grey and ominous at the outset but the artwork shows that the sun appeared and it became bright and warm. The majority of us set up around one of the lakes, but there is also a sense of other spaces in the park.

Lunch was at 90, The Green.

Broomfield Park has been open to the public since the Council took over the space in 1902. It retains some of its ‘grand house’ features with the pavilion, ponds, conservatory and walled garden. But it is now more diverse: wildlife habitats are being established such as the wetlands and an orchard.

Broomfield House is under scaffolding and behind hoardings. It has been in this state for decades as a result of four fires that reduced it to being unsafe and unusable. This is a sad conclusion to its life as an imposing merchant house from the 17^th century onwards. However, this is not the end of its story. The Heritage Lottery Fund provided some funds a few years ago to research and plan to ‘memorialise’ it. Extensive local consultation has produced a proposal to dismantle it, retaining stable features such as some walls, chimneys and fireplaces, and to transform the footprint into a series of gardens each reflecting the era of the house’s development through the centuries. This project has been submitted for Heritage Fund support.