Beacon Wood Country Park

The park has had a mixed history. For over 400 years, it was a rounded hill and ancient woodland. The trees have been used to supply timber for various uses. Including building, fencing and within ship construction. Especially the oak trees. A beacon was placed on top of the rounded hill (approx 300 feet high) during Elizabethan times. It was one of the chain of beacons lit to warn of the approach of the Spanish Armada (circa 1580). Later, some of the ancient woods were cleared and orchards were planted in the 19th century. In 1885, John J. Allchin leased a section of the site, for the yearly rent of £4-10 shillings to the E.C.Powder Company Limited, who began manufacturing smokeless…