Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden
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Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden
Home ¦ History ¦ The Garden ¦ Future Plans ¦ Visiting ¦ Schools ¦ Friends |
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Latest News Regular Coffee Afternoon - New dates
We are delighted to say that we have now been given the go ahead from the Environmental Health Department to serve home made cakes so do call in and try some.
Strawberry Cream Tea The recent Strawberry Cream Tea event went very well though the weather was somewhat mixed. We will be holding another one on Sunday 26 July and will once again be serving freshly baked scones and jam with delicious clotted cream and freshly picked strawberries. Join us and treat yourself to a little luxury. We now have a new serving hatch between the kitchen and seating area and we hope that this will make our service quicker and more efficient. This event was extremely popular last year so don't arrive too late!! Children's Event There will be a children's event on 9 August. Watch this space for further details. Picnic in the Park
The event was very well attended and Bactiguard Wire Brass gave a superb performance once again. There was a varied programme of music, with a British theme, including Festive Overture (Shostakovitch), Fanfare and Flourishes (Cordner), The Dam Busters (Coates), The Great Escape (Bernstein), Jerusalem (Hubert and Parry) and Pomp and Circumstance (Elgar).
Vandalism of the Fruit Cage We are very sorry to report that the recently installed fruit cage has once again been badly damaged due to vandalism. The fruit cage was installed to protect the soft fruits from being eaten by birds and cost over £800.00. It was bought by the Friends of Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden who raise funds for improvements to the garden by holding events. Vandalism has occurred on a number of previous occasions and other items damaged include vegetable frames, box hedges, flower borders and chimney pots. If anyone has any information relating to this criminal damage we would like to hear from them and we appeal to the local community to keep a close eye on the garden and report any signs of trespassing to the police (Crimestoppers 0800 555111). New Tree Sculptures We are pleased to reveal that two tree stumps have now been beautifully carved, by Nigel McQuilton, into sculptures of two Buzzards and an Owl. The carving took place on Sunday 26 April, happily the weather was fine and visitors were able to see the sculptor at work as he created them.
We are delighted with the results and hope that you will be able to take some time to come and see them. Events for 2009 Forthcoming events include some old favourites such as Apple Day, Bat Walk and the Christmas Fayre. New events later this year will include a children's event in August, a Hog Roast/BBQ in September and Halloween activities in October. We hope that you will be able to join us for some of these events. Click here for an up to date events list. Bring and Buy Plant Sale Thank you to all those who kindly donated plants for the plant sale. The weather was disappointing once again, but nevertheless the event was quite well attended. Mrs Daphne Zimmerman demonstrated flower arranging and produced some lovely arrangements.
New Merchandise
We also have luxurious hand made soap from Norfolk. It is made in small batches using the finest quality natural ingredients and aromatherapy grade essential oils are used to scent the soap. We are now stocking seven different varieties including a Gardener's soap to soothe those hard working hands, why not treat yourself? The latest additions to the range are new lip balms and travel sized soaps. We hope that these will prove to be as popular as our other products. Recent photos
Friends of Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden To see the latest newsletter from the Friends of Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden please click here. To view the minutes of the AGM please click here. Introduction Welcome to Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden The Garden was built in the early 19th century for the neighbouring house of Grappenhall Heys, to produce food and flowers for the house and as a pleasure ground. Over recent years the Garden has been extensively restored, and it is now starting the latest phase of its life under the ownership of Grappenhall and Thelwall Parish Council. The vision is to provide a resource for Grappenhall and the surrounding area, a tranquil oasis within the community, as well as a living example of a Victorian Walled Garden. Since the Parish Council has owned the garden it has:
Please come and visit this special place, and get involved in helping to develop it for future generations to enjoy. History Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden was created by the Warrington banker Thomas Parr around 1830 when he built a new house for his family. The Garden enjoyed its heyday in the late 19th century. From historical maps, 1875 to 1899 appears to have been the zenith for the estate. In the 20th century the house and its grounds, along with many country estates, began to decline. The house was demolished in 1975, but the Garden was retained as an amenity for the local community. English Partnerships refurbished much of the Garden as part of their development of the area with new housing. Grappenhall and Thelwall Parish Council took ownership of the Garden in 2005. Find out more about the history of the Garden. The Garden The Walled Garden consists of two main areas, the Kitchen Garden and the Pleasure Grounds. The Garden is unusual because it combines Kitchen and Pleasure Gardens within one walled area, and also because the Pleasure Grounds contain three ponds. The Kitchen Garden The Kitchen Garden has a formal geometrical layout, typical of most productive gardens. It would have provided the fresh produce required by the Parr household. It contains the greenhouses which would have provided fruit such as grapes and peaches for the Parr’s dinner table. The greenhouses are backed by buildings which were used as working and storage space for the gardens. Fruit, vegetables and flowers are now grown in the kitchen garden with the help of volunteers. The Pleasure Grounds The Pleasure Grounds are laid out informally. The Parr family could enter the pleasure grounds from a door near the house, without having to go through the working area of the Kitchen Garden. They could then take a circular walk which followed the walls, admiring the ornamental shrubs and trees before returning through an arch in the Yew hedge, flanked by two long flower borders in front of the greenhouses. Find out more about the Garden today. Future Plans Grappenhall and Thelwall Parish Council took ownership of the Garden from English Partnerships in 2005. The transfer was backed by an endowment which provides funding for maintaining the Garden, so its future is secure. The Parish Council has achieved many of the goals it set itself for the first two years. The Parish Council will continue to develop the garden, with the emphasis on maintaining a peaceful resource for the community and promoting its use and enjoyment by the people of the local area. |
NEW OPENING TIMES The garden is on Witherwin Avenue, near the roundabout on Lumb Brook Road. We are now open EVERY DAY from 1.00p.m. to 4.00p.m. and there is a guided tour every Sunday at 2.00p.m. Entrance is free. Parking is available in the public car park on Stansfield Drive and there are WC facilities on site. Find out more about visiting us. Current plants of interest To see more plants of interest click here. Get Involved During 2008 we hope the Friends will have a more active role in the the Garden, and we welcome everyone who is interested in helping the garden to develop. There are now four active volunteer groups up and running:
Find out more about the Friends. Your memories Do you, or someone you know, remember the Garden when it was part of Grappenhall Heys Estate, or after the house was unoccupied? We want to learn more about the Garden's past so we can make better plans for its future. Please get in touch with us and share your memories. Send us an e-mail or contact us. Contact Us The Garden is owned by Grappenhall and Thelwall Parish Council.
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Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden Witherwin Avenue Grappenhall Warrington WA4 3DS Tel. 01925 213638 E-mail: info@ghwalledgarden.org.uk Website:www.ghwalledgarden.org.uk |
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Grappenhall and Thelwall Parish Council Council Office Bellhouse Farm Bellhouse Lane Grappenhall Warrington WA4 2SD Tel/Fax 01925 264918 (Monday to Thursday 2-4.30 pm) E-mail: clerk@grappenhallandthelwallpc.org.uk Website: www.grappenhallandthelwallpc.org.uk |
© Grappenhall and Thelwall Parish Council, 2006
Regular coffee afternoons are
now being held at the garden every
Sunday until September in addition to the usual calendar of
events. We hope that you will be able to come along and
sample the refreshments on offer. We are very grateful to all our volunteers who give up their time to provide this service for visitors.
The
recent Picnic in the Park was a very enjoyable evening and we were
delighted that the weather was lovely and warm this year. 
The
Friends now have a great new range of
merchandise to promote the garden including pens, pencils, reusable Fair
Trade cotton bags, delicious Cheshire pressed apple juice and
gorgeous home made jams from Croft made using traditional methods and
locally grown fruit. The merchandise will be
available at events and coffee afternoons.
