Shenley Park Walled Garden
History of the Walled Garden
The Walled Garden dates back to the 16th Century when it provided Porters Mansion with fruit and vegetables (see History section for more details). During the times of Shenley Hospital (1934-1980) the garden continued as a Victorian style vegetable garden.
Sadly, towards the end of the Hospital era the Garden fell into a state of neglect. Part of the Wall was blown down in the storms of 1987. The Greenhouses that had once stood inside of the Wall had been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair and were demolished.
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After the storms in 1987 - a greenhouse standing against the wall inside of the Garden |
By the time the Trust was initiated in 1991 it would not have been feasible to attempt to restore the working kitchen garden status. Instead a novel garden was designed for the public that encompassed two marquee lawns separated by three terraces with an amphitheatre at the bottom of the Garden.
One of the first tasks in 1991 for the newly formed Shenley Park Trust was to clear the Garden up to make it safe for work. This involved predominantly clearing the greenhouse glass and timber that had previously been mown down by the bulldozers. For the first four years the work force was implemented by Community Service Workers on a Saturday and Sunday who helped clear the garden. Eleven large skips of glass alone were removed, even today whilst digging in the Walled Garden pieces of glass and even large bricks from the foundations of the greenhouses are still to be found.
Work to the garden started in 1992 with the majority of landscaping and planting completed by the end of 1995.
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The Garden after the demolished greenhouses had been cleared |
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What would have been vegetable plots at one time grown over with grass and weeds |
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Start of the landscaping work. The apple trees were retained and are still growing today. |
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Early stages of the landscaping programme to construct the terraces |