Landscape record 0434003000 - The Vache

The park is thought to date from William I when the Vache family held the manor from William. The park is also recorded on Saxton's map of 1574 and Speed's map of 1616 which was the last reference to the medieval hunting park. Thereafter, a landscaped park of a different nature was created. The gardens contain a ha ha to the south side, many unusual specimen trees and a memorial was erected in 1780 to Captain Cook. In the late 19th century it was used as a pheasant shoot (B6).
Precise date of park is unknown but is described by Shirley as the site of an ancient park of the La Vache family (who flourished from the C12 onwards). It is shown on Saxton's map of 1574 and Speed's map of 1610 (B5).
During the Second World War American soldiers occupied Nissen huts erected on both sides of Vache Drive, and in 1946, after their departure, the encampment was taken over by some 200 homeless people in the country's first mass squat. They stayed for several years until sufficient council houses were available (B7).
The Vache is a C16 and later country house with a park, gardens and pleasure grounds. The park was laid out in phases, including the straight Long Walk, a former main approach from the turnpike first recorded in 1730. The park focus is the Monument to Captain Cook, an eye-catcher pavilion built on a mound in 1780 by Admiral Palliser, an admirer of Cook. The extensive grounds survive largely intact with many mature trees from various phases and are a typical example of a substantial Chiltern country house estate. The 1990s Mews development adjacent to the house and other scattered modern houses have largely left the historic character and key ornamental features intact. See report for detail (B10).