Drones and geophysics will look for Stanmer Park's buried history

A heritage study is under way at Stanmer Park to find out more about the people who have lived and worked on the estate over thousands of years. It follows a long collaboration between the Labour-run council and Historic England, and is paid for through the Countryside Stewardship programme.

The work is being done by the consultancy Stantec, in partnership with the council. Researchers will combine desk-based historical research with site walkovers, drone surveys and geophysical investigations to find traces of past activity across the landscape.

Stanmer, in the South Downs National Park, is the city’s largest public space. The record already includes evidence of a Saxon settlement, 18th-century farm buildings, a walled garden and a manor house built in 1722. The parkland was laid out in the style of Capability Brown. In the Second World War the park housed a Canadian regiment and its firing ranges, and its soldiers took part in the Dieppe Raid and went on to the D-Day landings.

The project team hopes to find evidence linked to Roman occupation and wartime activity, along with archaeological features that have never been recorded. What they learn will feed into future conservation decisions on the estate.

Councillor Alan Robins, cabinet member for sport, recreation and libraries, said: “Much of Stanmer Park’s history has been well documented, but there is still so much more for us to discover and learn.”

The council will publish three updates. The first will introduce the project, the second will report early discoveries as fieldwork goes on, and the last will set out the main findings and launch an interactive StoryMap, where people can explore the estate through maps, images and other media.