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Within the main interacting themes of Agriculture & Food, Art & Culture, and Countryside & Conservation, Horkesley Park will host many features which will appeal to a very wide range of people from farming and fine art to gardens and renewable energy, brought together in Celebration of the English Countryside. The principal elements are listed below:-

Country Park  

·         An extensive Country Park providing access to the countryside for informal recreation within the Dedham Vale AONB;

·         Wildflower meadows – a haven for butterflies and insects increasing local biodiversity;

·         Creation of new habitats to benefit wildlife;

·         Sculpture trails around the parklands, woods, ponds and fishing lakes;

·         A rustic adventure play area catering for children of all ages;

·         A nature watch within the underground “Warren” that incorporates interactive hidden cameras observing bird and animal life;

·         Reinstated parkland, grazed by Suffolk Punches, together with extensive areas of new woodland and parkland trees integrating with existing areas of mature and semi-mature woodland;

·         Heritage crops;

·         Fly fishing with rod and tackle hire;

·         An area for archery demonstration and tuition;

·         A falconry and birds of prey area; and

·         A farm barn and pasture area for domesticated farm animals for children in particular to feed, groom and pet, with demonstrations of animal handling and care.

Main Building 

The Main Building has been sensitively designed to sit sympathetically within the landscape and be an exemplar of sustainability.  The Main Building contains many key elements that interconnect with the rest of Horkesley Park: 

·         A Stour Valley Walkway with a scale version of the 37 kilometres (23 miles) of the River Stour from Sudbury to the sea on the floor of the Walkway, with exhibitions and displays relating to the landscape and other rural resources of the area;

·         An interactive interpretation experience of the Life and Times of John Constable;

·         An interpretation centre featuring the many civilisations that have existed in the Stour Valley since the end of the last Ice Age, and other heritage and conservation displays;

·         A virtual reality re-creation of the possible deserted medieval settlement that is believed to have stood close to the 12^th Century Church of All Saints which adjoins the site;

·         A Farming Yesteryear Exhibition with farming through the ages cross-linked and contrasted with a modern day “Food Experience” (where visitors, particularly children, are able to learn where food in the region comes from, how it is made, how to cook it and what it tastes like) with the opportunity to sample and purchase the products of local and regional exhibitors within a “Farmers’ Market” environment;

·         Farming displays depicting many facets of farming from “field to fork”;

·         Exhibition space dedicated to travellers’ traditional role in farming;

·         Exhibits regarding the role of heavy horses in the service of man;

·         Studio of local dialects, country songs, tales and folklore;

·         A renewable energy centre to demonstrate sustainable techniques with exhibitions and practical information which visitors can take away for their own use;

·         Cooks’ school and demonstration area;

·         Local vineyard and brewery exhibits;

·         A restoration and reconstruction workshop employing traditional skills for Stour Lighter (barge) building and restoration of historic farm equipment and vehicles;

·         An exhibition of the history of Colchester engineering;

·         A display area for heritage and conservation societies, trusts and other organisations to illustrate their particular spheres of interest, activity and interaction;

·         Visitor information centre and cycle hire shop;

·         A specialist garden centre supporting the gardens with exhibitions that features Bunting & Sons’ 189 year history, (particularly lily growing at the Nursery site and in the Far East), and also exhibitions of biological pest control for worldwide crop protection pioneered by Bunting & Sons for over 20 years on the Horkesley Park site;

·         A 250 seater lecture theatre; and

·         Supporting facilities including eating and refreshment areas.

The Chantry 

·         A Fine Art Gallery accommodated in The Chantry (a magnificent Georgian property with all the hallmarks of a classic Regency villa inspired by the work of Sir John Soane), displaying works by John Constable and other artists of the region; and

·         Creative Design Workshops within the outbuildings of The Chantry for specialists such as artists, sculptors, flower arrangers, traditional crafts people and garden designers.

The Gardens 

·         Restored Gardens to reflect the period of the Great Plant Collectors (1750-1850), which spanned John Constable’s lifetime (1776-1837);

·         “Sensory” gardens;

·         A Chinese Garden in the grounds of The Chantry with an authentic tea pavilion relating to Bunting & Sons’ historical trading links with the Far East and promoting strengthened links between China and Essex;

·         Displays of award winning Show Gardens with exhibits changing and evolving throughout the year; and

·         A children’s vegetable growing area to provide a hands-on experience to help children learn where their food comes from.

The Suffolk Punch Breeding Centre 

·         A Suffolk Punch Breeding Centre with the capability of safeguarding East Anglia’s only breed of heavy horse from near extinction;

·         A Blacksmith and Farrier’s area with a working forge;

·         An Educational Area for learning about the heavy horse breed;

·         An outside all weather Suffolk Punch Display Ring;

·         Suffolk Punch horses at work on the land and drawing passenger-carrying vehicles; and

·         A demonstration micro-dairy.