In 1850, Lily Hill House looked out over delightful ornamental gardens with children in crinoline skirts playing on beautifully manicured lawns. People would stroll around the park, catching glimpses of the magnificent house through specimen trees gathered from around the world. Unfortunately, over the years the park has become overgrown and the historic landscape lost.

Ambitious plans are already in progress to restore the park to its Victorian glory. Phase 1 of the work used a £1.2m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to open up views and restore the original layout. It also increased the car park and provided an all weather surface suitable for disabled access on the main paths. Phase 2 is just about to start. With another £1m from the Lottery it is the turn of Starch Copse, Bullbrook Meadow and the western side of the park to get a makeover. It's going to be a huge project that will take years to complete but will be fascinating to watch.

Richard Scrivener has been appointed as Steward of Lily Hill Park - a title that reflects the historical aims of the project. He will be our liaison with Bracknell Forest Borough Council and will be a regular visitor to the park.

While the changes will be exciting there are some concerns from regular users of the park and that is why the Friends of Lily Hill Park has been formed. We want to make sure that the changes are in keeping, that the park reflects current ideals and importantly that the natural woodland feel is retained. We also want to make sure that everybody who is interested in the park can easily find out what is going on. The aims of the Friends of Lily Hill Park are not only to keep people informed but to enable people to put forward ideas and suggestions and to help in a practical way as the restoration takes place.

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We thank 2nd Bracknell Scout Group for their support of the Friends of Lily Hill Park. Projects like this need to involve the whole community and working with the Scout group gives us access to a whole group of children and young adults who already make extensive use of the park.