On the northeastern edge of Slough, just east of the village of Wexham, sits the sprawling estate of the Black Park. Covering an astonishing area of over 250 hectares of land, over 39 acres of which has been designated as an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest), while the rest is protected as a nature reserve. Black Park’s history is long, storied, and royal - with its origins as a medieval deer hunting park, first mentioned in 1202!

Deer hunting parks were an integral part to royal and aristocratic life in early medieval England - a tradition which followed suit throughout the centuries. The first mention of a deer park at Black Park comes from 1202, when the area belonged to the Langley Estate. The area was formally separated in 1607. What is now known as the Black Park comes from this separation, when the Black Park was officially landscaped in 1740 for the 3rd Duke of Marlborough. It was in the 1760s when the park was further re-designed by famed landscape architect Capability Brown - who famously designed the gardens at Blenheim Palace!

Black Park’s history also coincides heavily with the history of British film. Owing to its proximity to the nearby Pinewood Studios - Black Park has been utilised countless times as a filming location! From the 1960s Hammer horror films (including the 1957 The Curse of Frankenstein) to being the filming location for the Forbidden Forest in the Harry Potter film series!

Being part designated as a SSSI and a nature reserve, development in Black Park is scant and scarce. Black Park, part of Buckinghamshire Borough Council, is also attached to the nearby Wexham and Slough - adjoining Buckinghamshire to Berkshire. Although both councils are yet to produce their new local plan which will shape the future of housing and infrastructural development in Slough and its surrounding periphery - consultations have just recently been completed in nearby Wexham Street, George Green, and Middle Green - hinting at future development!