The Ouse Valley Park lies in the floodplain
of the Great Ouse which flows from Oxfordshire to the Wash. The park is the
most rural of any found in Milton Keynes and is a great place to go to
experience the Milton Keynes countryside without leaving the city. Old trees,
hedgerows, meadows, and new plantations combine to provide excellent habitats
for wildlife.
History of Ouse Valley Park
Water Mills have been a feature of this river valley since at least the Domesday Book surveys in 1086. Those at Wolverton Mill and Stony Stratford would have been extended and rebuilt many times over the years. The Stratford mill was destroyed by fire in 1985 but has been rebuilt on the original floor plan as private apartments. Its millrace, which had long been dammed and practically static, has now been reopened. The Mill at Old Wolverton was last rebuilt in the 18th century and is now a private house. The millrace here is lined by hybrid black poplars and lesser spotted woodpeckers can sometimes be seen in their upper branches, Holy Trinity Church stands on what was formerly the site of Wolverton Motte and Bailey. This was built in 1100 AD by the de Wolverton family who made it the centre of their extensive estate. The remains of the other estate buildings and the homes of the villagers who worked it can still be seen in the lumps and bumps across the fields both east and west of the church. Manor Farm stands on the site of a large medieval "grange" a monastic farm established here by the Oxfordshire priory of Clattercote. The earliest buildings that remain on the site date from the 17th century but most of the farm was rebuilt in the early 19th century. After falling into disrepair the farmhouse has been refurbished and sympathetically converted into apartments, while its outbuildings have been transformed by The Parks Trust into modern business units which are now available to rent in Milton Keynes.For more information about Milton Keynes visit: http://www.
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