Cotswold Wildlife Park
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| Date opened | 1970 |
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| Location | nr Burford, Oxfordshire, England |
| Coordinates | 51°46′25″N 1°39′15″W / 51.77361°N 1.65417°W |
| Land area | Wildlife Park: 48 acres (0.194 km2), Gardens: 160 acres (0.647 km2) |
| No. of species | 260+ species (2012) |
| Major exhibits | Walled Garden, 'Madagascar', Woodland Walk, Reptile House, Bat House, Insect House, Tropical House, Train, Adventure Playground, Brass Rubbing. |
| Website | www.cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk |
Coordinates: 51°46′25″N 1°39′15″W / 51.77361°N 1.65417°W
The Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens exhibits over 260 different species of animals and is the largest privately owned zoological collection in the UK (by species). The park is set in 160 acres (0.65 km2) of landscaped parkland and gardens 2 miles south of Burford on the A361, Oxfordshire, England. Around 350,000 people visited the park in 2012.
In 1804 the estate's owner William Hervey had the current Manor House designed by William Atkinson and built by Richard Pace of Lechlade, in the then fashionable Georgian Gothic style. This followed the example of Strawberry Hill, Horace Walpole's masterpiece at Twickenham. The house replaced an original 17th-century Jacobean residence, part of which was incorporated into the North service wing. Hervey also planted a great number of trees in the park, many of which can still be seen including a huge Wellingtonia tree on the west lawn. This tree is over 40 metres high and can be seen on the skyline from many miles away.
In 1923 the house and estate were purchased by Colonel Heyworth-Savage, and on his death in 1948 the estate was passed to his grandson John Heyworth. The house was rented out for twenty years to Oxford Regional Hospital Board, until in 1969 Mr. Heyworth decided to open the gardens to the public, and since 1970 the house has been the heart of the Wildlife Park.
John Heyworth was born in the Manor House in 1925. When he left school he served from 1943–1947 in the Royal Dragoons, the regiment which had been commanded by his father, who was killed in action in North Africa in 1941. The Walled Garden was originally a kitchen garden, the area now houses the marmosets and tamarins, contained cold fruit frames full of parma violets and other delicate plants, and on the site of the gardeners' greenhouse stood two structures reputed to be the oldest greenhouses in Oxfordshire. The Tropical House has taken the place of three adjoining greenhouses, the first for carnations, the second for rare hot-house plants and a fig tree, and the third for nectarines and peaches. The water supply for the Walled Garden came from a central well now covered over but still marked. There was a cricket pitch on what is now the grass car park, and two grass tennis courts outside the drawing room and brass-rubbing room. Many years ago there was even a private nine-hole golf course covering what is now the ostrich enclosure and surrounding area.
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