Town council completes work on hidden Stortford park

A £10,000 upgrade of a hidden Bishop's Stortford oasis is almost complete.

The town council is spending £10,000 at Monastery Park adding new benches and pathways before scented rose planting and new signage completes the project.

The open space is a link with Bishop’s Stortford’s more rural past. The land, which was once used to graze sheep and other livestock, was gifted to the town along with a decade of maintenance cash by the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.

The religious order arrived in the town in 1900 and founded the church of St Joseph and The English Martyrs in Windhill while the priests and brothers lived at the monastery next door - the 17th century Windhill House.

In 1990, the Redemptorists sold the monastery, along with land for the Priory Court housing development and offered the pasture land for social housing, but the offer was rejected by East Herts District Council.

As a result, the Catholics gave the plot - a green wedge behind the Windhill Churches Centre leading down to Apton Road - “for the benefit of the people of Bishop’s Stortford”.

There is an entrance from St Michael’s churchyard, but no public access from Apton Road.

As part of the discussions about giving the park more prominence, the town council consulted the Redemptorists about choosing a new name. Following the Diamond Jubilee, the authority was considering Queen Elizabeth’s Park - despite the fact that the order’s arrival in Bishop’s Stortford brought the first priest for the town’s Catholic families since the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, following the Reformation.

The Very Reverend Father Ronald McAinsh, superior and chairman of the trustees, told the council that Liguori Park or Vassall-Phillips Park were appropriate. The order was founded by St Alphonsus de Liguori in 1732 while Father Oliver Vassall-Phillips built St Joseph’s Church and was its first rector.

Father McAinsh said: “There are great history and heritage in the monastery estate consisting of the church, monastery and extensive formal garden and adjacent grounds.

“The parkland has retained its open space character, having been used by St Joseph’s monastery community for sheep grazing, the keeping of livestock and recreation much in keeping with the market town status of Bishops Stortford.”

After considering the cleric’s response, the council decided Monastery Park should remain the name.

The little-known Monastery Park is not to be confused with the Monastery Garden - the enclosed private space with an entrance on Windhill, which the town council rents out for weddings, garden parties, outdoor theatre and other events.