Cassiobury Park 5.48

Cassiobury Park is the principal public park in Watford, Hertfordshire, in England. It was created in 1909 from the purchase by Watford Borough Council of part of the estate of the Earls of Essex around Cassiobury House which was subsequently demolished in 1927. It comprises over 190acre and extends from the A412 Rickmansworth Road in the east to the Grand Union Canal in the west, and lies to the south of the Watford suburb of Cassiobury, which was also created from the estate. The western part is a 25.1 hectare Local Nature Reserve managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust.History14th to 19th centurySt Albans Abbey claimed rights to the manor of Cashio (then called "Albanestou"), which included Watford, dating from a grant by King Offa in AD 793. When Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1539, Watford was divided from Cashio and Henry made himself lord of the manor of Cassiobury. In 1546 he granted the manor to Sir Richard Morrison, who started to build Cassiobury House in the extensive grounds (which were much larger than they are today, reaching as far as North Watford and southwards almost to Moor Park). The Tudor mansion was completed by his son, Sir Charles Morrison, and boasted 56 rooms, a long gallery, stables, a dairy and a brewhouse.