| Subject: |
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Thanks and WKG listing |
| Name: |
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Lois Amos from the Friends of Bedfords Park and Walled Kitchen Garden |
| Date Posted: |
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Oct 9, 07 - 3:07 PM |
| Email: |
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amoslois@hotmail.com |
| Website: |
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http://None at present- apologies |
| Message: |
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May my husband and I thank you for a truly inspiring Conference at Helmsley. This was our 4th time and we look forward to the Conference next year again.
Just to list a Georgian Walled Garden that supplied the Bedfords mansion in the late 1700s onwards. It is a 2 acre garden with all walls extant and the North Wall was a Flue wall and two coal houses and one chimney are visible but in a very bad state of repair. Only part of an old Fernery/orchid house and the base and bench of a possible pinery still exists, but again in very bad state of repair. It is owned by the London Borough of Havering and it sits nicely in a 230 acre Park and deer park and woodland, adjacent to a designed landscape by Bridgman who worked with Flitcroft on the nearby Bower House in 1729. The Park is an area of Metropolitan Importance for Biodiversity and is also included in the Havering Ridge of Special Character,is a Conservation Area, and part of the Green Belt. The Park recently earned a Green Flag Award.
The Borough Nursery was housed there until 12 years ago when it was closed and the site left to vandals and thieves. Essex Wildlife Trust run a popular and excellent Visitor Centre very close by. We, the Friends Group are trying to rescue the garden for a social and community organic growing project and this summer we were lucky to receive help from 800 World Scouts from the World Jamboree at Chelmsford. 100 Scouts a day came to work in the WKG and we managed to clear one quarter of the garden.
The Council is now doing a'feasibility study' internally to establish what can be done with the garden and they say we will be allowed to have input into these discussions. I have been personally involved with the garden for 12 years and have fought for its survival as it was( an may still be) under threat from the local Streetcare and was designated for a transport yard at one time! I spend as much time as possible in researching local history. We are continuing with our fight to establish a worthwhile use and local project there. Your information, help and Conference meetings give us energies and inspiration to keep going! |
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