Mansion to get £3.25m facelift

Hylands House, near Chelmsford, is Grade II listed

An historic Georgian park and mansion, which also plays host to a major rock festival, has won £3.25m of Heritage Lottery funding.

The money will be used to restore the grounds and outbuildings at Hylands House, near Chelmsford - a Georgian neo-classical Grade II listed mansion.

About 100,000 people come to the V music festival which is held at the site each year.

Christopher Kingsley, the council executive member for arts, said: "We are truly delighted to receive this award.

"At a time when so many landmark buildings are being lost, the council has been able to restore this wonderful house and provide a valuable and much loved attraction for borough residents and tourists alike.

"This money will enable us to bring history to life and provide much needed facilities for schools and visitors."

Visitor centre

Robyn Greenblatt, Heritage Lottery Fund regional manager in the East of England, said: "Parks are essential to the ongoing well-being of a community and HLF is dedicated to funding schemes that regenerate these much needed green spaces.

"Hylands Park is a wonderful heritage resource and we are very happy to help develop the site into an outstanding attraction for all visitors."

The Heritage Lottery Fund money will enable Chelmsford Borough Council to:

Plant the first of 25,000 trees on the Hylands Estate

Restore the park to the original design by the famous landscape gardener, Humphry Repton

Recreate the formal pleasure gardens with Regency and Edwardian planting

Convert the stable block to a visitor centre, with craft studios, a tea-room, a shop and a display area

Bring rare Suffolk Punch horses back to Hylands

Restore Flint Cottage to its original appearance and use it to support events in the park.