Hawkstone Park
Hawkstone Park is a historic landscape park in Shropshire, England, with pleasure grounds and gardens.
| Hawkstone Park | |
|---|---|
Obelisk monument to Rowland Hill, publisher of the Geneva Bible | |
| Type | Historic landscape |
| Location | Weston-under-Redcastle, Shropshire, England |
| Nearest town | Wem |
| Area | 100 acres (40.47 ha) |
| Operated by | Principal Hayley Group |
| Status | Open |
| Website | https://www.hawkstoneparkfollies.co.uk/ |
It historically associated with Soulton Hall the Shropshire headquarters of Sir Rowland Hill ("Old Sir Rowland") publisher of the Geneva Bible, (d.1561) because these two estates were bought by him in 1556 from Sir Thomas Lodge(father of the writer Thomas Lodge, who penned the source book of Shakespeare's play As You Like It). For these reasons, the landscape is increasingly linked with the inspiration for that play. One of the reasons for the dominance of the landscape as an eighteenth century attraction is the Geneva Bible' enduring internal importance and is known in America as the Founders Bible, as well as being and the Bible of Shakespeare, Donne and Milton.
In the later 1600s, Hawkstone Hall was built as another headquarters of the legacy estates of "Old Sir Rowland".
The park, north east of the small village of Weston-under-Redcastle, near Wem. is listed Grade I in Historic England's Register of Parks and Gardens. It is known for its follies.