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With the economic boom which enveloped the nation in the mid-19th century, and at the height of the development of the vineyards and sherry houses of Jerez, a family named Pemartin Laborde decided to build an emblematic palace.
It was the French architect C. Garnier who designed the project for the Palace and its gardens towards the end of the last century, it being later constructed under the directions of Royel (disciple of Garnier) and inaugurated in 1864 in the presence of His Highness Francisco María de Asís (husband to Queen Isabel II) who bestowed upon it the privilege of placing chains ("cadenzas") over the main door, thus dignifying the place which would in later years become known as the "Recreo de las Cadenas".
A concern not only with architectural form, but also with the surrounding environment Came to take on a marked character, with the creation of a large park surrounding the Palace giving the grounds a distinctive leisurely air.
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Originally the grounds were larger than they are today and in addition to the gardens there was a greenhouse, a botanic garden, a stream, a pool and a grotto. In order to decorate it different species of trees were brought from all five continents which had been introduced since man had begun to sail the oceans. They are species which became fashionable in the great gardens which were being created all over Andalusia after the War of Independence against the French and whose most notable example is to be seen in the María Luisa Park in Seville, built between 1830 and 1849 and where up to 110 different species of tree can be admired.
The majority of the trees to be found in the "Recreo de las Cadenas" were originally hackberry trees (Celtis Australis) characteristic of the Mediterranean region and considered to be one of the most valued ornamental trees within the flora of the region given the opulence of their stance which gain great volume and height. These mark the level or group of the tallest trees in the Park, shared with other species such as Eucalyptus (E. Camaldulensis. D.) and Casuarinas (C. Equiserifolia. L.). In this group of very tall trees we can also find date palm trees which reach heights of up to 30 metres.
Lower in height were the Privets or Durillos (Ligustrun Japonicum Trumn.), originating from China and Japan, and the Brachiciton (Sterculia Diversifolia), trees which began to take on ornamental importance at the beginning of the 19th century and which later became the most widely used species in the parks and gardens of the region.
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At the end of the 1960's and throughout the decade of the 1970's, the Park and its gardens, after almost a hundred years of existence, suffered years of neglect and some of the trees were lost forever, as were a large part of the gardens. However, it is possible to think that the care of the gardens has undergone other cycles of neglect or inconsistent conservation and reservation, particularly in the years when the Recreo changed hands. The restoration work which was carried out after it was acquired by the Ministry of Information and Tourism in 1975 would bring about important changes in the Park with regard to its extension and layout, it being during these years that the park as we know it today was designed and constructed.
The total wooded area of the Park is made up of something over 130 specimens which represent 35 different species, the majority from the Mediterranean and others from the tropics and warmer regions of the planet. The trees are in special danger of extinction due to plagues and death from injury or harm to roots and trunks, mainly affecting the older specimens which are precisely the most valuable ones. On the other hand, the replanting of new trees in the Park has abused the use of specimens which are of little ornamental interest (the only ones worthy of mention are a few new Cedars and Jacarandas).
The current layout of the Park is organised, at the entrance, around a triangular area which is covered in grass and in the centre of which we find the Pool and Fountain, along with a varied group of trees amongst which stand out a very tall old Lames and a Jacaranda, also very well developed, and a particularly rare bush near the Pool - a Eritrina Cristagallis. The pathways around the edge divide the Park on this side into two areas which reach as far as the limits of the same. The right-hand side begins with small trees such as the Mulberry trees from Japan and the Acacias, after which we find taller trees as we near the Palace such as Eucalyptus and Cypresses. On the opposite side, the Park takes on a more Oriental air with species such as the Orange trees in the substratum and Privets of medium height.
From the main R.A.S.E.A. building, the Park can be seen to consist of two different sections: one which stretches from the Palace building to the row of houses built into the façade which looks onto the road, where the younger, most recently planted trees predominate and amongst which we find Mulberry trees and Soforas from Japan, and the Tree of Paradise. The other section is drawn between the main building and the Prince's House, in which predominate the older, taller trees such as Hackberry trees, Palms and Eucalyptus which stand in the area around the Prince's House.
Of all the trees standing in the grounds, worthy of individual mention is the Ombú tree (also known as the Sapodilla or Beautiful Shade tree) originating from South America (Argentina, Uruguay and parts of Brazil). The American Exhibition in 1929 in Seville was the moment in which this species was first planted in Seville and in Jerez. And it could be said that these trees are rarities within the confines of the city (only a few isolated specimens being found in places like the Alameda Vieja). From the region of Australia, the antipodes, we find in the Park two particular specimens: on e known as the Fire tree (Grevillea Robusta.Cunn.), introduced into Europe around 1800 by C. Creville and originating from Queensland; and the Lagunaria or Pica Pica (Lagunaria Paterson II. Dom.) of which there is only one specimen in the Recreo de las Cadenas Park. This tree is of great ornamental value with a beautiful pink flower which blossoms in Spring and was brought form the Norfolk Islands.
Amongst the trees worthy of mention for their size and age, we point to a Huckberry tree standing by the entrance - which was in need of great care given the splits and breakages to its great branches which affect a large part of the base of the tree, a few examples of the Tree of Love, Jacarandas, Brachichito, Brazil Pepper trees, Casuarinas and Eucalyptus amongst others. Canary Palms, which were originally more numerous in the Park than they are nowadays, are gathered to create a small oasis in one of the northern corners of the grounds and is also in need of conservation.
The Chamaerop Palms are of exquisite taste, standing at the foot of the stairs on both the front and back façades, conferring as they do an air of singular ornamental luxury.
However, the rarest botanical specimen in the Park is the "ERITRINA GRISTAGALLIS" or "Cock's Crest" with a cork-like trunk whose crimson flowers (hence the name) which bloom in Spring, gathered in clusters, bestow upon the area a great flowering beauty. There is one adult specimen in the Park which has grown next to the Fountain, its branches forming a splendid silhouette (fruit of expert pruning) and another on the front façade of the Palace.
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