NEWS & EVENTS: Recent Newsletter
February 2024
It's rather late in the year, but a very Happy New Year from the EGT Newsletter team. After the rather wet winter we've had, it's great to see spring flowers everywhere, including these from a member's garden. Hopefully you have all been able to enjoy these signs of spring either at home or maybe on some of the snowdrop open gardens this month.
February's newsletter is packed full, including updates on the Globe Pit allotment paintings originally reported on in June last year, further information on our Wrest Park events, lots of dates for your diaries and links to varied events, both ours and our friends.
You can also read about wassailing at St Laurence Orchard last month, a site which is to be included in the Southend Inventory, and how to help the Tree Council find out more about mistletoe in Essex. Just scroll down the page for all articles.
If you have something for the next newsletter send it to our email address below. If you'd like to join EGT's friendly team helping with any aspect of our work, do email us on essexgardenstrust@gmail.com to find out more.
Annual Wassail – St Laurence Orchard, Southend
On Sunday 21st January, I attended the annual Wassail at St Laurence Orchard with some of the Southend Inventory research team. The orchard, which has a fascinating history, will be included in the Southend Inventory. Wassailing, originally an Anglo-Saxon celebration, is an annual tradition of blessing orchards to ensure a successful harvest for the following year. The ceremony includes music, singing and dancing. As part of the festivities, we hung pieces of toast in the trees to attract the birds and good spirits. We also processed to different parts of the orchard where local folk groups sung traditional songs, accompanied by a range of percussion instruments to invigorate the trees and banish any malevolent spirits. At the end of the festivities a new apple tree was planted with the assistance of some of the younger participants. As with any Wassail celebration, there was plenty of mulled apple juice and apple cake for participants to enjoy!
St Laurence Orchard is currently managed by Trust Links, a local mental health charity who have been incredibly accommodating to our researchers. It was fantastic to participate in an event that was so well supported by the local community.
Emma Cannell
Update on the restored Globe Pit Allotment Paintings
Thurrock Museum have secured lottery funding for display material that will be first used to house the two Globe Pit allotment paintings that EGT helped to restore. They will be on show at the council offices in Grays during August and September and the Museum have contacted Twigs Way to see if she will be available for a talk on allotments.
Watch this space for updates!
Wrest Park talk and visit, updated information
Friday 8th March - 14:00
Wrest Park and its Gardens - 'A Journey Through Garden History' - Zoom lecture
Andrew Hann, the Properties Historian Team Leader at English Heritage, will guide us through the three centuries of landscape design history on display at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire. In addition to a variety of formal and informal gardens, romantic vistas and woodland walks, the 19th century mansion at Wrest Park is surrounded by a number of fascinating garden buildings including the 18th century Bowling Green House, a striking Chinese Bridge and Temple, picturesque bath house and the spectacular Archer Pavilion with its stunning interior and views down the Long Water canal. His Zoom lecture will be followed in April by a tour of the site to see the stories come alive. Hopefully, people will be able to attend both events to gain the best understanding of Wrest Park, but single tickets for either event are available.
Lecture tickets available here.
Thursday 25 April - 11:00 -16:00
Wrest Park tour
Following on from his Zoom lecture, Andrew Hann will lead us on a tour of the grounds of the impressive gardens and woodlands at English Heritage's Wrest Park. There will be two tours, one at 11:30 and one at 13:30, with no more than 20 in each group. When not on the tour, visitors will have the opportunity to explore the gardens on their own and visit the cafe. Visitors will be able to see the progress made on English Heritage’s 20-year master plan for Wrest Park, which started in 2009 and has included new visitor facilities, restoration of the rose and Italian gardens and the French Parterre. Most recently the Bath House grounds were restored and replanted based on detailed survey and research The visit has been timed to take advantage of the display of spring flowering bulbs.
While self-drive tickets remain available, please note that all places on the 16-seater coach arranged for the visit have now been reserved for those who have bought tickets for the Tour. Those interested in the coach can add their name to a reserve list, with the possibility that a larger coach can be booked if sufficient interest is shown.
Tickets for the tour available here.
Future EGT events
Saturday, 11 May - Visit to and tour of Little Bentley Hall, Waterways and Garden
A rare opportunity to visit this garden and woodland with a guided tour from the owner, Christopher Palmer-Tomkinson.
More details and tickets available here.
Thursday, May 23 - "Sketch and Scribe" Workshop, Chelmsford with Jane Fredericks, EGT's Artist in Residence, and Siobhan Pierce, EGT's Writer in Residence.
This small and friendly workshop is designed to help you develop your confidence in drawing and writing outdoors.
More details and tickets available here.
Thursday, 6 June - Visit to and tour of Benton End House and Garden, Hadleigh, Suffolk
Benton End was gifted to the Garden Museum with the aim of reopening the house and garden and we are delighted to have this chance to visit.
More details and tickets available here.
Two for your diaries:
Saturday 13th July 2024 2pm - 4.30pm - Visit to Blunts Hall, Blunts Hall Rd, Witham CM8 1LX, including a guided tour from the owner, Lesley Gamblin
Join us for a summer afternoon’s visit to Blunts Hall, a delightful, and interesting, 3-acre Victorian garden, on the outskirts of Witham. Our private tour, kindly offered by the owners, will include a woodland walk around a spring-fed pond, a fernery and specimen trees. There is also an orchard (with old & new fruit trees), a vegetable plot (with restored garden building) and even a Listed Ancient Monument!
Close to a Courtyard Garden, there is a Terrace leading down to lawns, a reinstated Parterre and abundantly-filled herbaceous borders; and during the afternoon, we will have the opportunity to relax and enjoy refreshments served here. Tickets available soon,
Saturday 16th November 2024 -‘Ellen Willmott’s Alpine Gardens and the Backhouse Nursery of York’, Lecture by Gillian Parker at Writtle University College
The Backhouse Nursery played a significant role in the development of alpine gardens in the 19th and early 20th century throughout the country, including those of historical interest such as that of Ellen Willmott. Gillian Parker has been carrying out research for her PhD into the work of the York-based Backhouse Nursery, who offered not only alpine plants but also garden design and construction services. Gillian’s talk will include a history of this family-run nursery, with a particular focus on their work at Warley Place.
This talk is being held in conjunction with Essex Wildlife Trust. Tickets available soon.
Where does Mistletoe grow in Essex?
Survey by the Tree Council
Mistletoe (Viscum album) is a partial parasite, its green leaves will photosynthesise but colonies survive by tapping into host trees for water and minerals. The host trees include apple, crab apples, lime, hawthorn, poplar and maple and willows.
At this time of the year, the green spheres of mistletoe can be clearly seen on the leafless trees in some parts of Essex including Theydon Bois, Loughton, Hylands Park, Brentwood, Chelmsford (as seen above), Newport and the Saffron Walden area. Its sticky white berries are spread by birds and if deposited on a suitable branch germinate becoming visible as a small cluster of leaves between three to four years. Once established each plant grows larger year by year.
The Tree Council is researching the current distribution of mistletoe across the UK as it appears to be spreading. A recent talk on the subject can be accessed on YouTube here.
If you use a smart phone, there is an app which allows you to record colonies of mistletoe and any records submitted will help researchers to plot mistletoe’s current distribution and abundance. Whilst birds will help to spread this plant, some colonies may well have become established as there is a trend to grow your own mistletoe by smearing berries onto apple trees!
The information will also help to produce management guidelines for those who need to manage gardens, orchards and parklands where this plant is growing well and threatening to overwhelm specific host trees.
So please take a wander and use your smart phone to send in details of any sightings.
Tricia Moxey
Forthcoming Friend's Events
Thurrock Local History Society
Twigs Way will be back in Grays for another talk to the TLHS on 15th March this year. The subject is ‘The Diverse History of Gnomes’ - one of her many interests.
Meetings are at St John’s Church Hall, Victoria Avenue, Grays RM16 2LP and start at 8.00 pm.
Tickets available on the door and cost £2pp.
News from the Friends of Cressing Temple
AGM Sunday 24th March, 2pm, Cressing Temple
Join the Friends for their AGM. There will be updates about the work that has gone on over the past year and plans for the coming year as well. Speaker to be announced.
Apple Day 2024. A date for your diary!
The Friends are delighted to announce that there is a confirmed date of Sunday October 20th for this year's Apple Day.
Planning has already started for the event and the Friends would welcome volunteers to help - it is fun.
Find out more about The Friends of Cressing Temple here.
Hertfordshire Gardens Trust
Dr Diana Kingham, garden designer and garden historian, will give a talk about Sir Edwin Lutyens’ landscaping of the gardens at Temple Dinsley, Preston, near Hitchin.
Temple Dinsley has a long and varied history from the settlement by the Knight’s Templar in the 12th century, and the house is currently being converted into townhouses and apartments. The highlight of the garden’s history is the work carried out by Sir Edwin Lutyens for the Fenwick family, which started in 1909. The planting may be by, and is certainly in the spirit of, Gertrude Jekyll.
Despite the site having been neglected in recent years, much of Lutyens' imaginative infrastructure is still in place. Diana recently carried out a detailed survey of the formal gardens and produced a detailed report for the English Heritage Pilot Scheme for Historic Houses and Gardens.
Tickets are £5 for members and £8 for non-members through Eventbrite here. Sales end 2 March.
Thursday 28th March at 10.30 am - Knebworth House, Park and Gardens
Spring walk around the estate with Kevin Hilditch, retired Head Gardener at Knebworth Park.
Programme:
10:30 Arrive at Knebworth
10:45 Morning refreshments
11:15 Walk and Talk Garden Tour with Kevin
12:30 Lunch in the Garden Terrace Tea Room
13:45 Guided House Tour & exhibitions or free time in the gardens and park
15:00/15:15 Depart Knebworth
Cost is £18 for HGT members and £20 for non-members.
The visit can only take place if there are 20 attendees and numbers have to be confirmed by 3rd March and paid for by 7th March. If you'd like to attend, register interest with Richard Haydon. zoomevents@hertsgardenstrust.org.uk
Refreshments and lunch are not included in the price.
Study Day: 18th May 10am - 5pm. Hastoe Village Hall, Tring, Herts HP23 6LU
Charles Bridgeman (1690-1738) - Pioneer of the Naturalistic Landscape
Despite being a popular designer in the early 18th century, Bridgeman’s place in garden history and many of his landscapes have become neglected over time. Although not so well-known as his illustrious successors, Capability Brown and Humphrey Repton, Bridgeman can be safely claimed as the first landscape designer of note to adopt a more naturalistic style of park and garden design. He became well-known in his day for redesigning the large estates of the wealthy as well as the Royal Parks and Gardens. Although he is most famous for popularising the ha-ha, now exciting new discoveries have come to light and this day will seek to illuminate his progressive contribution to the transition from the formal designs of the 17th century to the freer and naturalistic designed landscapes of the 18th.
The morning will consist of three 45-minute talks and a Q&A session:
Sue Haynes, whose new book on Bridgeman is due out on 12th December, will give an overview of Bridgeman’s work.
Jenny Milledge will talk about his work in Hertfordshire.
Anne Rowe will describe the exciting discoveries made at some Bridgeman sites in Herts.
The venue is Hastoe Village Hall which was built for the villagers by Alice Rothschild of Tring Park and is in walking distance of the Ridgeway Path which leads to the famous rond-point, restored after careful research by HGT and reopening magnificent views over the Park.
A buffet/sandwich lunch will be provided and there will be plenty of tea and coffee available. After lunch a guided walk of approx. 1 hour, 30 mins/2 hours along the Ridgeway path to view the work in Tring Park will be offered.
Transport will be available from the station in Tring to the Hall. There is parking available at the hall itself.
Cost £45 (£50 for non-members). Tickets available here.
Birkbeck Garden History Group
Water in Modern Designed Landscapes Saturday 9th March, London
A Study Day organised by the Birkbeck Garden History Group on the use of water in c20th and c21st gardens, industrial and public landscapes, canals and river surrounds. Speakers include Katie Campbell (private gardens), Hal Moggridge (industrial and public landscapes), Alan Powers (canals), and Jason Debney (Thames landscape management). Venue is 5 minutes walk from Angel Underground. All welcome.
Further information and booking here.
Queries to: bghgbookings@gmail.com
