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96-517: Bradgate Park ( / ˌ b r æ d ɡ ə t / ) is a public park in Charnwood Forest , in Leicestershire , England , northwest of Leicester . It covers 850 acres (340 hectares). The park lies between the villages of Newtown Linford , Anstey , Cropston , Woodhouse Eaves and Swithland . The River Lin runs through the park, flowing into Cropston Reservoir which was constructed on part of

192-454: A Papal bull from Pope Clement VII in 1528 to confirm his marriage to Mary Tudor, which legitimised Frances as his daughter. In 1533, Frances married Henry Grey, Marquess of Dorset . The marriage took place at Suffolk Place , a mansion that belonged to her parents on the west side of Borough High Street in Southwark . It was this marriage, and her three children, which led to her life in

288-535: A Quartz arenite rock with a smooth glassy appearance. A metre-wide dyke of diorite also runs through the exposed rocks of the quarry, possibly of late Ordovician age, which places it at a similar age to the Mountsorrel granite formations. During the Triassic period, some 350 million years after those ancient rocks were formed, they were exposed due to the erosion of the rocks above. By this point they were part of

384-626: A Private member's Bill was presented to Parliament for the formation and construction of the Leicester, Groby and Bradgate Park Railway. At a distance of 5 miles, 4 furlongs and 1.4 chains long, the railway was planned to run from Newtown Linford, through Sheet Hedges Wood , under Bradgate Road, and then via Cropston to a junction with the Great Central Main Line within Thurcaston parish, to the north of Rothley railway station . The proponents of

480-424: A bonfire accident during celebrations of the 21st birthday of the future sixth Earl of Stamford . It is reputed that the stonework at the side of the tower was altered to look like a handle, perhaps knowing John's liking of ale. However he was not 21 until 1786, and a map of 1745 names the hill as 'Old John'. The tower was used during the 19th century as a viewing point for the horse-racing practice circuit laid out by

576-425: A common sight in the open areas of the park. Deadly nightshade is allowed to grow within the ruins of Bradgate House, having been originally established there during World War II by Leicester Polytechnic 's School of Pharmacy for medicinal purposes. As of 2015 deer numbers were around 450 but concerns have been raised about dogs chasing deer. Trust notices displayed at the entrances now advise that dogs must be on

672-495: A considerable part of her lands. Nevertheless, she once more resumed care of Francis and Margaret Willoughby, organised a place in school for the boy and took the girl to court, along with herself and her surviving daughters. Their elder brother was placed as ward under a councillor's care. Since Thomas was his father's heir, the councillor had control over the Willoughby fortune during Thomas's minority. Frances, Duchess of Suffolk

768-486: A conspiracy to bring the Dudley family to the throne, they have also been described as routine matches between aristocrats. It has been claimed since the early 18th century that Lady Jane was brutally beaten and whipped into submission by the duchess. However, there is no evidence for it. Lord Guildford was, as a fourth son, an unusual match for an eldest daughter of royal descent, and William Cecil , another close friend of

864-677: A formal opening of Bradgate Park, public access to the Park became available soon afterwards in 1929. In 1931, once the Bradgate Park Trust was fully operational and established, the Rotary Club approached the County Council and trustees about the possibility of merging the two properties and charities under the Bradgate Park trustees and this was completed in 1931. The park is now administered by

960-489: A further 6 GCR sites, 13 regionally important geological sites (RIGS), five local nature reserves (LNRs), seven Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT) nature reserves, and one Woodland Trust woodland. Seventeen sites have open access to the public. Footpaths and bridleways give views and limited access to the other sites listed, and to the rest of the Charnwood Forest landscape. Over half of Charnwood Forest

1056-494: A lead in specified areas near the main footpath. Dogs are allowed off lead in around 75% of the area of the park, so long as they are kept under effective control and do not worry the deer. The Daily Telegraph highlighted Bradgate in an article referencing the busybodies charter though it failed to mention the deer. In July 2016 a visitor centre opened in the Deer Barn buildings off the main path east of Bradgate House in addition to

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1152-762: A site with no public access except by special arrangement with the owners. Plants found within the woods include Digitalis purpurea , Dactylorhiza fuchsii , Sorbus torminalis and Vaccinium myrtilus . Abbreviations used in the table: National nature reserve (NNR). Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) (B=Biological, G=Geological). Geological Conservation Review (GCR)(I=of International importance). Regionally Important Geological Site (RIGS). Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT). National Trust (NT). Local nature reserve (LNR). Download coordinates as: 52°42′N 1°15′W  /  52.70°N 1.25°W  / 52.70; -1.25 Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk Frances Brandon

1248-630: A wide area of southern Britain. The forest is an important recreational area with woodland walks, noted for their displays of bluebells in the early spring, rock climbing and hillwalking . Popular places with public access include Bardon Hill , Beacon Hill , Bradgate Park , Swithland Wood , the Outwoods and Stoneywell cottage (National Trust). The area of hills and open land known as Charnwood Forest has no jurisdictional boundary (the Borough of Charnwood covers roughly two thirds of Charnwood Forest, and

1344-555: Is 912 feet (278 m). On its western flank lies an abandoned coalfield , with Coalville and other former mining villages, now being regenerated and replanted as part of the National Forest . The M1 motorway , between junctions 22 and 23, cuts through Charnwood Forest. The hard stone of Charnwood Forest has been quarried for centuries, and was a source of whetstones and quern-stones . The granite quarries at Bardon Hill , Buddon Hill and Whitwick supply crushed aggregate to

1440-439: Is a hilly tract in north-western Leicestershire , England , bounded by Leicester , Loughborough and Coalville . The area is undulating, rocky and picturesque, with barren areas. It also has some extensive tracts of woodland , and significant Precambrian geology. Its elevation is generally 600 feet (180 m)and upwards, the area exceeding this height being about 6,100 acres (25 km ). The highest point, Bardon Hill ,

1536-483: Is depicted as a possible portal to the realm of fairies . Charnwood Forest covers approx 67 sq mi (170 km ) of Leicestershire , split over three local government districts: Charnwood Borough , North West Leicestershire District and Hinckley and Bosworth District. It includes a national nature reserve (NNR), 19 SSSIs (Some subdivided in the list of sites below), 4 Geological Conservation Review (GCR) sites of international geological importance plus

1632-446: Is directly opposite the bus stop on Link Road, between Cropston Road and Hazelhead Road. The path is signposted from Link Road and crosses several fields before entering the park proper. Another route, which joins the main path, is accessible from the edge of the village, adjacent to the last houses on Bradgate Road. The park is within easy cycling distance from the city centre of Leicester. Charnwood Forest Charnwood Forest

1728-461: Is in operation and visitors pay on exit. The park is open from dawn until dusk all year round, though the public footpaths which run through the area mean that in practice the park is always accessible. A limited service 125 operates by the Newtown Linford entrance Monday to Saturday and Arriva 29B operates an infrequent Sunday service both serve Leicester City Centre and Coalville . One path

1824-658: Is included within the English National Forest . It is also crossed by two waymarked long distance walking routes—the Leicestershire Round and the Ivanhoe Way. The 45 sites listed here include sites with statutory wildlife or geological designations, plus other sites included in published lists of notable sites. On both the map and table, green denotes a site open to the public, amber denotes a site with limited access or restricted by permit or membership. Red denotes

1920-419: Is known as granite (formerly also called Markfieldite). The central area of the forest has older rocks still. These are sedimentary and are very variable in character, They were formed by material from volcanoes, settling in deep water, and it is in these beds that the fossils are found. Uplifting, tilting and erosion have produced the distinctive jagged exposures found across the highest parts of Charnwood. On

2016-526: Is largely based on Roger Ascham 's account of a statement of her daughter Jane: For when I am in presence of either Father or Mother, whether I speak, keep silence, sit, stand or go, eat, drink, be merry or sad, be sewing, playing, dancing or doing anything else, I must do it, as it were, in such weight, measure and number, even so perfectly as God made the world, or else I am so sharply taunted, so cruelly threatened, yea, presently sometimes with pinches, nips and bobs, and other ways, (which I shall not name, for

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2112-463: Is most likely created by Cornelius Cure ) and crowned the grave with Frances's effigy which still remains. Her effigy had an ermine-lined mantle over the dress with a pendant around her neck. She lies on mattress with a lion at her feet and her coronet has been repaired and gilded. The inscription on her grave reads in Latin: Frances Grey's posthumous reputation for being insensitive or cruel

2208-474: Is of Hanging Rocks Formation, the only other example being at Hangingstone Hills, near the Outwoods , 4 km to the north. It is unclear if this is late Precambrian or early Cambrian . It is distinguished by conglomerates with well-rounded volcanic pebbles mostly 5–15 mm but some up to 100 mm in diameter, which may have been smoothed on a volcanic shoreline before being washed, along with much finer material, into deeper water. These are younger than

2304-597: Is the Sliding Stone Slump Breccia rocks. Forming a line of crags below Old John, these are laminated mudstones , with layers of sandstone , mainly of volcanic origin. The beds are substantially warped, contorted and folded. Many of the more intricate folds and 'sag' patterns are thought to have occurred while the sediments were unconsolidated and water saturated. Suggested causes for these include slumping, earth tremors and fault-movements, trapped water or gases and volcanic bomb impacts. Outcrops of other rocks of

2400-445: Is unclear as to these changes removing Frances from the line of succession. Catherine Parr then married Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley and Lord High Admiral . Lady Jane followed her to her new household. Frances, her husband, and other members of the aristocracy saw Jane as a possible wife for the young King. Catherine Parr died on 5 September 1548 which sent Jane back into the care of her mother. Thomas Seymour pressed

2496-617: The Devise for the Succession , which passed over the claims of his half-sisters and settled the Crown on his cousin Jane Grey. Like his late father, he also passed over Frances who otherwise would have been the heir presumptive , possibly because she seemed quite unlikely at her age to produce a son to succeed her. Frances and her husband were at first outraged, but eventually, after a private audience with

2592-617: The Pangea supercontinent and desert conditions resulted in an accumulation of windblown Loess , which now forms the Mercia Mudstone Group . With the subsequent sinking of the East Midlands crust, these deposits became waterlogged and formed into red clay . It is this clay that was used to make the bricks for Bradgate House. The mudstone is only visible where it was extracted, across the stream from Bradgate House. However, it covers much of

2688-465: The 'natural' rocks below. This material includes unsorted clay and sand particles, small and large pebbles and large stones and boulders. It travelled great distances within the ice sheets and glaciers , so individual rocks, whether on the ground, or within the great lengths of stone walls of the Park, may be local stone, or may be a specimen from northern Britain or even from northern Europe. The fossils at Bradgate and in other nearby Charnian rocks are

2784-530: The 17th and early 18th centuries, when Bradgate was still occupied by the earls of Stamford. The walled spinneys are a later feature, built and planted in the early 19th century as coverts for shooting. The park still has herds of red and fallow deer, which probably have an unbroken occupancy since medieval times. Edward Grey's son Sir John Grey of Groby married Elizabeth Woodville , who after John's death married King Edward IV . Their son Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset , prepared for building Bradgate House in

2880-478: The 1831 and 1841 cholera epidemics. The water level was raised 2 feet (60 centimetres) in 1887, to increase capacity and the original steam powered beam engines ran until 1956. A number of pools were also constructed along the course of the River Lin through the park, to allow silt to settle before reaching the reservoir. A second, covered reservoir was added on the northern side of the park in the early 1960s. In 1899,

2976-522: The Beaumont family, passing to the de Quincy family and on to William de Ferrers of Groby . It remained in the de Ferrers family until 1445, when it passed to the Grey family after William's only surviving daughter married Edward Grey. The inquisition into the estates of de Ferrers, made after his death, mentions the park, with "herbage, pannage and underwood, worth 40 shillings yearly". The Grey family retained it for

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3072-768: The Bradgate Formation are found further down the slope. These are younger than and stratigraphically above the breccia, but the uplift from ancient mountain-building, the dip of the beds and erosion of overlying rocks mean that the younger rocks are encountered at progressively lower altitudes. The youngest of the Precambrian rocks are the South Charnwood Diorites . These are known locally as granite, (geologically they were formerly described as markfieldite) and are quarried commercially at Groby and Markfield . These are igneous intrusions of magma which formed within

3168-598: The Bradgate Formation, but again at a lower altitude. A possibly explanation is that it formed in a channel cut into the existing sea floor, but a preferred conclusion is that movement along fault-lines has relocated it relative to its surrounding rocks. The relationship between the different outcrops in Bradgate are made more obscure by the overlying peat and Boulder clay , which mean the contacts between adjacent stratigraphic sequences are nowhere exposed. Previously classed as precambrian, but now accepted as early Cambrian are

3264-519: The Bradgate Park and Swithland Wood Charitable Trust, with trustees nominated by Leicestershire County Council , Leicester City Council and the National Trust . With the consent of the Charity Commission, the charity has adopted the shorter working title of Bradgate Park Trust. It was formerly an extra-parochial tract , in 1858 Bradgate Park became a separate civil parish , on 25 March 1884

3360-535: The Brand Group of rocks which include Swithland Slate, locally important as a source of roof slates and gravestones. The nearby Swithland Wood has extensive outcrops and was one of the principal quarry areas until the mid 19th century. Rocks close in age to the slate can be seen in the 'stable pit', a medieval quarry near Bradgate House. This outcrop is part of the Brand Group and is known as the Stable Pit Member,

3456-793: The Club initiated the annual Bluebell Service in the Wood, in partnership with Swithland Parish Church. On 29 December 1929 the Bradgate Park Charity with trustees nominated by the County Council and the National Trust was established to manage Charles Bennion's purchase and gift of Bradgate Park, with the appropriate senior officers of the Council providing the necessary professional and administrative services, including land management, legal, secretariat and financial support. Although there does not seem to have been

3552-571: The Greys took them under their wings. Thomas soon joined Henry and Charles Brandon at college and his siblings went to live with their uncle George Medley. However, during the Wyatt rebellion, Medley was imprisoned and taken to the Tower. At the time he was released, the imprisonment had taken its toll on him and he couldn't take care of the children any longer. Frances had already lost her eldest daughter, her husband and

3648-431: The Greys, told his acquaintance Michelangelo Florio how Jane was following in her parents' footsteps concerning piety, and how close she was to her mother Frances. The alleged abuse of her daughter as well as her role in the machinations to bring Jane the crown are the subject of historical debate. While Jane was already with her husband Guildford Dudley, under the supervision of his parents, she heard news that Edward VI

3744-560: The Lord Mayor of London proclaimed Mary queen on 19 July, the Duke of Northumberland lost all support, and he, his son, and Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Days Queen, were beheaded for treason. There is a longstanding tradition that the oak trees of Bradgate were pollarded at the time of Lady Jane's death. Pollarding of the trees was a practice that was undertaken then, as before and since as it kept

3840-562: The Lord Protector and Anne Stanhope. However, the Lord Protector fell from power and was replaced by John Dudley . In May 1553, Guildford Dudley , the second-youngest son of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland , and de facto regent during the young Edward VI's minority, married Frances' daughter Jane. Frances and Henry Grey fully supported and pushed for this marriage between Guildford and Jane. The marriage would be uniting two powerful and Protestant families. Her daughter Katherine

3936-559: The River Lyn east of the Little Matlock Gorge. A parker, living in a moated house, was the only occupant, maintaining stocks of deer for the lord of Groby Manor to hunt. The park was greatly extended by the first marquis in the late 15th century, to occupy land previously farmed by both Newtown Linford and the now lost village of Bradgate. Lichen dating of the dry-stone walls suggest that the north and west boundary walls were built in

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4032-473: The Suffolks with demands that he held Jane's wardship and she should be returned to his household. Jane returned to Seymour's household and moved into Catherine Parr's apartments. Seymour still planned to convince Edward VI to marry Jane, but the king had become distrustful of his two uncles. An increasingly desperate Seymour invaded the king's bedchamber in an attempt to abduct him, and shot Edward's beloved dog when

4128-486: The Suffolks, claimed the match was brokered by Catherine Parr's brother and his second wife. According to Cecil, they promoted the match to Northumberland who responded rather enthusiastically. The Suffolks did not favour the match much since it would have meant passing the crown out of their family to Northumberland's. However, since Northumberland claimed to have the king's support in the matter, they finally gave in. The only historical proof of some family quarrel concerning

4224-508: The Tudor Court. Frances's first two pregnancies resulted in the births of a son – Henry (Lord Harington), and a daughter, who both died at an early age with unknown birthdates. Their births were followed by three surviving daughters: Frances's residence at Bradgate was a minor palace in the Tudor style . After the deaths of her two brothers, the title Duke of Suffolk reverted to the crown, and

4320-546: The animal tried to protect its master. Not long after Seymour was tried for treason and executed on 20 March 1549. The Suffolks convinced the Privy Council of their innocence in Seymour's scheme. Jane was again recalled home. The Duke and Duchess lost hope of marrying her to the king, who was sickly and thought likely not to live. For a time it is claimed they contemplated marrying her to Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford , son of

4416-543: The area. Many of the craggy rocks of Charnwood Forest are of volcanic origin and are very old, dating back through 600 million years to Precambrian times. It was the site of the first-ever recorded discovery of Charnia masoni , the earliest-known large, complex fossilised species on record, recovered from a quarry near the Charnwood village of Woodhouse Eaves . It was discovered separately in 1956 & 1957 by local schoolchildren Tina Negus and Roger Mason , although it

4512-548: The bill stated that the primary purpose of the line would be to carry passengers. In reality, the aim of the promoters was for the new railway to take granite from Sheet Hedges Quarry to the Great Central Railway, as well as potentially encourage the opening of quarries in Bradgate Park. The proposal ultimately failed however, as the Commons Committee meeting on 20 March 1899 felt that the argument in favour of building

4608-462: The care of her mother, Mary Tudor , the youngest surviving daughter of Henry VII and younger sister of Henry VIII. For most of Frances’s childhood she resided in Westhorpe , Suffolk. Her father, Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk , had been married at least twice before. He obtained a declaration of nullity regarding his first marriage to Margaret Neville on the ground of consanguinity and secured

4704-469: The couple: On 20 November 1559, Frances Grey died due to illness. Her remains were transferred from Richmond to Westminster Abbey where the funeral was held on 5 December. During the funeral service, her daughter Katherine participated as head mourner. The funeral was the first Protestant service performed in Westminster Abbey. Four years after her death, her husband erected an alabaster monument (this

4800-479: The derivation, meaning a tool used to grind grain and other materials by hand. The area was a source of stone for these tools, called quern-stones . Archeological evidence has shown that the area was inhabited as far back as the Neolithic period, approximately 4,000–2,000 BC. Beacon Hill is the site of a Bronze Age hill fort, dating from between 600 BC and 43 AD. This forms one of the last surviving visible features in

4896-470: The duchess faced ruin. As a wife, she held no possessions in her own right. All her husband's possessions would return to the Crown, as usual for traitors' property. She managed to plead with the queen to show mercy, which meant at least she and her daughters had the chance of rehabilitation. The queen's forgiveness meant some of Suffolk's property would remain with his family, or at least could be granted back at some later time. Frances lived in poverty during

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4992-502: The eastern half of the borough is not part of the forest). Furthermore, despite its name, Charnwood was never a royal forest , and was never subject to forest law . So although it is an ancient and well-established locality, it has only recently been officially defined, by the Natural England National Character Area (NCA) process, which takes a somewhat wider definition than many previous attempts to define

5088-542: The eastern side, a much more recent series of rocks are found. Again igneous diorites, that formed deep underground, but these are Ordovician , from a mere 450 million years ago. These are extensively quarried in the areas near Mountsorrel . The earliest form of the name Charnwood is probably derived from cerne woda , from the Celtic carn , meaning cairn , and the Old English wudu , meaning wood. Some sources give cwern as

5184-534: The existing Beacon Hill and Bradgate Formations. They cooled slowly and at great depth to create their large crystalline structure, and were subsequently exposed by erosion of the uplifted rocks above. The Diorites are the cliffs and blocks seen along the Lin valley, through the so-called Little Matlock Gorge and near Bradgate House. They are massive blocky outcrops made up of crystals of feldspar , quartz and mafic minerals. An area of rock overlooking Cropston Reservoir

5280-409: The existing cafe. The geology section features details of the park's formation during its stages of volcanism, glacial erosion and inhabitation by Ediacara biota. It also shows the tracks of a later land based lizard. The archaeology section features work by Leicester University beginning in 2014 and includes evidence of Creswellian sites from 14,500 years ago. The Deer Barns café in the centre of

5376-645: The few areas of Britain where these ancient basement rocks can be seen at the surface. The oldest of the Charnian rocks within Bradgate Park are the rocks nearest the Old John and memorial summits. This is the Beacon Hill Formation. It appears to have formed in deep water, out of sediments of volcanic ash and other pyroclastic material , which were then subject to slumping and submarine flows, to create rocks with various degrees of stratification . The volcano itself

5472-495: The forest for use in agriculture. Quorn was established between 1086 and 1153, and all the land up to Woodhouse had been deforested by 1228. There were comparatively few major changes in land use in the post Medieval period, until the demand for timber and charcoal for the early Industrial Revolution contributed to a further loss of woodland. By the end of the 18th century, most of the woodland had disappeared leaving large areas of moorland and pasture. In 1957, Charnwood Forest

5568-504: The honour I bear them), so without measure misordered, [sic] that I think myself in hell. From this passage it is often deduced that Frances and Henry Grey had mistreated their daughter. However, Ascham wrote these words years after the actual meeting, and his view might have been influenced by the later events concerning the Greys. The letter he wrote to Jane just a few months after the visit speaks admiringly of her parents and praises both Jane's and their virtues. James Haddon , chaplain of

5664-410: The king himself and spoken to him about the succession, she could convince Jane that she was the rightful queen and heir. Their success was short-lived. Jane was deposed by armed support in favour of Mary I on 19 July 1553. The Duke of Suffolk was arrested, but released days later thanks to the duchess's intervention. The moment she heard of her husband's arrest, she rode over to Mary in the middle of

5760-422: The king, she renounced her own rights to the throne in favour of Jane, approving the plan for the succession. Edward VI died on 6 July 1553. Lady Jane was declared queen on 10 July. The duchess joined her for the proclamation and during her stay in the Tower. She had been fetched when Northumberland realised Jane's confusion and overwhelming feelings, and she managed to calm her daughter down. Since she had seen

5856-664: The landscape known to the Coritani , the tribe who occupied most of the East Midlands area at the time of the Roman Conquest. According to Domesday Book , there was only one settlement in Charnwood Forest in 1086, at Charley whose name would appear to come from the same root, with the suffix -ley denoting open land, rather than forest. In the 200 years after the Norman conquest , newly created settlements took major areas of land out of

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5952-405: The late fifteenth century but died before he was able to begin. It was his son Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset , who built Bradgate House, the likely completion date being 1520. There is now some confusion over this completion date however, as an older house has been discovered under the visible walls and findings have suggested that Lady Jane Grey, who wasn't born until 12 October 1537, lived in

6048-607: The marriage is written down by Commendone as "the first-born daughter of the Duke of Suffolk, Jane by name, who although strongly deprecating the marriage, was compelled to submit by the insistence of her mother and the threats of her father". By June 1553, Edward VI was seriously ill. The succession of his Catholic half-sister Mary would compromise the English Reformation. Edward opposed Mary's succession, not only on religious grounds but also on those of legitimacy and male inheritance, which also applied to Elizabeth. He drafted

6144-446: The matter. After the attempt to put Jane on the throne Frances was confined in the Tower of London for a time. Jane was now becoming too dangerous for Mary, and was beheaded on 12 February 1554 with her husband. Jane's father was convicted of high treason and was executed eleven days later on 23 February 1554. With two young daughters barely in their teens and her husband a convicted traitor,

6240-418: The new growth high up, away from browsing deer and has enabled the ancient trees to reach their great age. It is not known if the estate workers of 1554 attached any particular significance to the practice. A prominent landmark is the folly known as ' Old John ' on the top of the highest hill in the park. Built by the Greys in 1784, the folly is, by local legend, a memorial to John, an estate worker killed in

6336-469: The next 500 years, and in the 19th century was opened to the public several days a week. In 1928 it was bought by Charles Bennion and given, as a plaque in the park describes, 'to be preserved in its a natural state for the quiet enjoyment of the people of Leicestershire'.According to some legends, Bradgate park is actually known as Old John. The park was originally enclosed using a bank and ditch topped by vertical pales of oak . These first ditchworks cross

6432-456: The night to plead for her family. Despite all odds, not only did the duchess manage to be received by the queen, but also could secure him a pardon by placing all the blame on Northumberland. While in his household, Lady Jane had fallen sick of food poisoning and had suspected Northumberland's family. The duchess now used her daughter's suspicions and her husband's sickness to accuse Northumberland of having tried to kill her family. Therefore, Mary

6528-401: The north of Old John. The various layers were subsequently deeply buried, subject to vast periods of mountain-building ( orogeny ), heat, pressure and erosion of overlying material, to expose the hard, jagged outcrops seen in the photograph. Overlying the Beacon Hill Formation, but found a little further down the hillside to the south, are the Bradgate Formation beds, the most notable of which

6624-675: The older house. Sir Thomas Grey died in 1530 and was succeeded by his son Henry, the 3rd Marquess of Dorset, who was married to Frances , the daughter of the Duke of Suffolk and Mary Tudor , King Henry VIII 's younger sister. Their daughter Lady Jane Grey was born at Bradgate House probably in October 1537. Notably in July 1553, at the age of fifteen, the Duke of Northumberland (her husband's father) proclaimed her Queen of England and Ireland, in opposition to Mary Tudor . However Mary had more support, and when

6720-556: The only known Precambrian fossils in Western Europe. Until 1957 it had been thought that complex life forms and perhaps life itself began with the Cambrian Period and that all rocks older than this developed in a world without plants or animals. The 1957 discoveries, by Roger Mason , in rocks near Woodhouse Eaves , subsequently named in his honour as Charnia masoni , required a re-evaluation of when life began. It also resulted in

6816-631: The owners Bradgate Trust advised that all visitors are expected to be alert to the risk of causing fire, though another fire in June destroyed one of the ancient oaks. The area now enclosed as Bradgate Park was one of a number of parks surrounding Charnwood Forest. Since medieval times it has been part of the Manor of Groby. In the reign of Edward the Confessor , the area was owned by a landowner named Ulf . The manor, along with some 100 others in and around Leicestershire,

6912-513: The parish was abolished and merged with Newtown Linford , Anstey and Ulverscroft . In 1881 the parish had a population of 6. The visible geology in Bradgate Park ranges from some of the oldest ( Precambrian ) fossil bearing rocks in England to the youngest ( Quaternary ). The rock outcrops were created in conditions varying from volcanos rising out of the ocean, to magma flowing deep underground and from tropical deserts to Ice sheets . Within

7008-470: The park is open 7 days a week and offers sandwiches, toasties, jacket potatoes and other cold snacks and hot and cold drinks. There is also a café at the Newtown Linford car park which is operated externally as of 2021. Pay&Display car parks are operated at the Hallgates entrance and Hunts Hill (at the top of the park near Old John ). At Newtown Linford an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system

7104-521: The park the outcrops are widely distributed as hillside crags and outcrops, both along the valley sides of the River Lin and on the hilltop of Old John. They include rocks with some of the oldest known developed forms of fossil animal life in Western Europe . The Precambrian outcrops include four 'type-members' of the Charnian Supergroup , formed some 560 million years ago. Bradgate is one of

7200-449: The park. To the north-east lies Swithland Wood . The park's two well known landmarks, Old John and the war memorial, both lie just above the 210 m (690 ft) contour. The park is part of the 399.3 hectare Bradgate Park and Cropston Reservoir Site of Special Scientific Interest , which has been designated under both biological and geological criteria. Following a fire in April 2017,

7296-455: The people of Leicestershire. Plaques on Old John and the main path through the park commemorate the gift. Bennion's son subsequently added the gift of an adjacent piece of land, and in 1936 the City Council purchased an additional 46.5 acres of land abutting the park. The nearby Swithland Wood had previously been sold in 1921 to the Leicester timber merchant William Gimson, who began to extract

7392-490: The public for recreation "as a national heritage". The Rotary Club established the Swithland Wood Trust, repaired and renewed the fencing of the area, provided car parking and restored the paths, spending around £6,000 on the original purchase, fencing and landscaping. The Club opened Swithland Wood to the public on August Bank Holiday, 2 August 1925, employing its own staff to manage the Wood and visitor services. In 1928

7488-442: The public. There are a number of magnificent specimens of ancient oaks several hundreds of years old. The park is home to herds of red deer and fallow deer . Birdlife is profuse – the reservoir attracts many species of wildfowl , as does the river and the spinneys provide secluded nesting areas for many other species, including large colonies of rooks . Species such as yellowhammer , reed bunting , skylark and meadow pipit are

7584-493: The railway was insufficient. In 1905 the estate was bequeathed on the death of the 7th Earl of Stamford's widow to the earl's niece, Mrs Arthur Duncombe . Limited public access had been allowed while the park was in the hands of the Greys. In 1928, the ancient Deer Park with the ruins of Bradgate House was included in the sale of the whole Grey estate and the Park was bought by local businessman and British United Shoe Machinery founder Charles Bennion who gave it in perpetuity to

7680-713: The re-classification of other rocks in Southern Australia and Newfoundland , which have similar fossil marks. At Bradgate Park there are some 50 known examples. They mainly take the form of two-dimensional impressions of fronds and disks and have at various times been described as seaweed, jelly fish, corals or sea anemones. They are now described as belonging to the Ediacara biota , with no consensus on which kingdom, current or extinct, they should be placed. The Bradgate examples include Bradgatia linfordensis and Charniodiscus concentricus as well as Charnia masoni . Because of

7776-469: The reign of Mary I. Mary I made a point of placing her by her side, favoured but kept under the observation of the queen. She was still regarded with some suspicion and in April 1555 the Spanish ambassador, Simon Renard , wrote of a possible match between Frances and Edward Courtenay , a Plantagenet descendant. Once again, Frances's children with Courtenay would have had a claim to the throne, but Courtenay

7872-497: The risk of vandalism and damage, specific locations of these fossils are not disclosed and those wishing to investigate them should first of all seek the permission of the Bradgate Park Trust. None of the rocks in Bradgate Park should be chipped, hammered, or otherwise sampled, replicated or removed. The landscape is rocky moorland with a covering of coarse grass and bracken . Several spinneys of woodland ( pine and mixed deciduous ) are enclosed by stone walls and are not accessible to

7968-506: The seventh earl. In 2001, Bradgate Park Trust registered the design of the building as a trademark , and in 2018 told a local artist that she would have to pay them if she continued to sell her paintings of it. Cropston Reservoir was constructed in the south-east corner of the park in 1871, submerging the Head Keeper's house and a substantial area of former parkland. It was Leicester's second reservoir (after Thornton), built in response to

8064-400: The throne. Jane followed Catherine Parr to her new residence and was established as a member of the inner circle for the nine-year-old king. Frances and her sister Eleanor had been removed from succession in the will of King Henry VIII alongside the descendants of their aunt Margaret Tudor , though their daughters were still included following Edward's half-sisters Mary and Elizabeth . It

8160-505: The timber commercially, with the aim of dividing up the land for building plots as it was gradually cleared. Following public concern about the threatened loss of this ancient woodland of importance for its geological, natural history and industrial history features, in 1925 the Rotary Club of Leicester, with the cooperation of William Gimson, bought the whole site of approximately 137 acres (55 ha) for preservation and to provide access to

8256-416: The valley floor around and beneath Cropston Reservoir , – demonstrating that the present Lin valley was also there 220 million years ago. Bradgate Park and its surrounding areas were heavily overlain in the (geologically) recent past by glacial deposits of Boulder Clay . The Quaternary period includes the last ice age. As the ice melted, some 10,000 years ago, the solid material within the ice settled over

8352-468: Was Mason who received the credit (thus masoni ). Since this find in Charnwood Forest, Precambrian fossils have been discovered across the world. Along the western edge of Charnwood Forest the rocks are mainly Precambrian igneous diorites . These formed from molten lava deep within the sedimentary rocks, cooling slowly to produce hard, blocky rock with large crystals. This is extensively quarried for roadstone around Groby , Markfield and Whitwick , and

8448-417: Was awarded to Hugh de Grandmesnil in the eleventh century as reward for his assistance in battle to William I . The name Bradgate is thought to derive from Norse or Anglo-Saxon , meaning "broad road" or "broad gate" respectively. The first mention of Bradgate Park is from 1241, by which time it was laid out as a hunting park, although rather smaller than the current boundary. It was subsequently acquired by

8544-569: Was born on 16 July 1517 in Hatfield, Hertfordshire , England . Frances was an uncommon name at the time, as she was reportedly named after St. Francis of Assisi , although some historians believe she was named in honour of Francis I , the French king. At Frances's baptism, her aunt Queen Catherine (first wife of her uncle Henry VIII ) and her cousin Mary served as godmothers. Frances spent her childhood in

8640-460: Was changing his will to exclude her mother from the succession and name Jane as his heir instead. Jane, startled by the news, asked her mother-in-law permission to visit her mother, yet was met with refusal. Ignoring her, Jane sneaked out of the house and went back home. Jane's mother was accused of having beaten Jane into submission to marry Guildford Dudley. When Grey's brother-in-law's children Thomas, Margaret and Francis Willoughby were orphaned,

8736-494: Was considered for designation as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), but the designation was not made due to the construction of the M1 motorway through the area. The area was the inspiration for "Charnwood Poems", a collection of poems by the author, playwright and poet Albert Francis Cross (1863–1940). It is also the setting for the speculative fiction novel Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce (2012), in which it

8832-497: Was in the north-west of Charnwood Forest , and the whole area was in the southern tropic, off the coast of the continent of Gondwana . (A modern parallel might be the sea surrounding Montserrat .) Some of the layers show great variation, showing how an initial volcanic eruption would result in larger sediments rapidly settling to create course-grained tuff , followed by settling of much finer material to form much smoother dust- tuffs – smooth light-grey to creamy coloured rocks seen to

8928-490: Was later granted to Frances's husband. Around 1541 Bishop John Aylmer was made chaplain to the duke, and tutor of Greek to Frances's daughter, Lady Jane Grey . As the niece of Henry VIII, Frances was frequently at court. It was through her friendship with Catherine Parr that Frances' daughter Lady Jane Grey secured a place in the queen's household. There, Jane met Henry VIII's son and future successor, Edward . Henry VIII died on 28 January 1547, and Edward VI succeeded to

9024-539: Was married to Henry Herbert , the son and heir of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke , at Durham House. Dudley's daughter Katherine was promised to Henry Hastings , heir of the Earl of Huntingdon . At the time they took place the alliances were not seen as politically important, even by the ambassador of the Holy Roman Empire Jehan de Scheyfye , who was the most suspicious observer. Often perceived as proof of

9120-491: Was reluctant, and Frances escaped the marriage by another, much safer match. She married her Master of the Horse , Adrian Stokes . It was a safe marriage for her, since any children from it would be considered too low-born to compete for the throne. Her childhood friend and stepmother Katherine Willoughby had married her gentleman usher, so Frances moved on familiar ground. She and Stokes married in 1555. Three children were born to

9216-527: Was willing to pardon the Duke of Suffolk. She intended to pardon Jane once her coronation was complete, sparing the 16-year-old's life. However, Wyatt the Younger declared a revolt against Mary on 25 January 1554. The Duke of Suffolk joined the rebellion, but was captured by Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon . The revolt had failed by February. The plot ringleaders had wished to supplant Mary with her half-sister Elizabeth, although Elizabeth played no part in

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