Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden

Latest News

New Bench

The Park Women's Institute have very kindly donated a beautifully crafted new bench to the garden. The W I held a very successful coffee morning with various stalls which raised over £500.00. We are very grateful to them for all their hard work. Mrs Beryl Chadwick, President of Park W I, and Mrs Daphne Zimmerman, Founder President, along with other W I members formally presented the bench to the Chairman of the Parish Council, Councillor Brian Johnson.

Picnic in the Park

The recent picnic in the park with Wire Brass was very successful. The Band performed a wonderful selection of music from stage and screen including: Nessun Dorma, Concerto De Aranjuez, Indiana Jones, Over The Rainbow, Westside Story and Someone To Watch Over Me to name but a few. The weather was very unpredictable but thankfully the band did manage to perform without getting wet (though one or two of them did shiver with cold!).

Scarecrow Making Weekend

On Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th September between 1 and 4 p.m. there will be a scarecrow making activity at the garden. Come along and make your own scarecrow to either take home or leave at the garden. If you can spare any old, unwanted clothes and shoes please bring them along. Refreshments will be served.

Friends of Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden

To see the latest newsletter from the Friends of Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden, including a list of events, 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:

employed a Visitor Warden;
employed a Gardener Manager;
completed a basic fit-out of some of the back sheds to provide a classroom, kitchen and toilets;
produced this website and an information leaflet; and
held various friends events including Apple Day, all of which were well attended.

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.

Find out more about future plans.

Visit us

The garden is on Witherwin Avenue, near the roundabout on Lumb Brook Road.

We are open 1.00p.m. to 4.00p.m. Wednesday to Sunday 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

Agapanthus 'Royal Blue'

To see more of the current 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:

Events
Gardening
Visitor Wardens
Historical Research

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.

Find out how to contact us.