The Orchard
The Orchard was first planted in the early 1900’s by the owner of Porters Mansion at that time Mr C. Raphael.
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Apple Orchard as was - during the Hospital era |
After the Estate was acquired by ShenleyHospital in 1935 the Orchard was re-propagated by the Head Gardener, Mr Stanley Lord. In all 22 acres of orchards were planted around the Hospital Estate to provide fruit for the Hospital kitchen and local markets, with the patients actively involved in the picking and storing of the fruit.
During the 1970’s and 1980’s it was frowned upon to use patients to help maintain the grounds and the Orchards fell into disuse. Since the Hospital closed and the site was re-developed only one of the Orchards remains which has been named The Stanley Lord Orchard. Through the hard work of the Shenley Park Trust Staff together with volunteers the Orchard is now been restored.
There are now over 450 apple trees and 120 varieties in this Orchard, many of which are unusual. Stanley Lord originally planted 250 trees in 1950. Over a 5 year period with support from the Countryside Stewardship Scheme a further 250 trees were planted by Shenley Park Trust. Emphasis was made when selecting the trees to plant those that originate from Hertfordshire and surrounding counties. This Orchard now represents a collection of many unusual and rare varieties of apples, an example being Seabrook Pearl that originated in Essex but is now thought to only be found in Shenley. Recently there has been a further 50 trees added to the Orchard in accordance with a yearly re-planting scheme to ensure that there will be an Orchard here for future generations to enjoy. See the Apple Variety list for all of the varieties.
The Meadow
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Meadow in flower |
This area of land which is now the Meadow has been traced back to 1840 and to our knowledge has always been a grassy field that was part of the Porters Estate. When the Hospital was built in 1935 topsoil was removed from this area and used to create a compost mix for the Walled Garden. The remaining soil then had a reduced fertility and the habitat was ‘open’ so that many species of wild flowers and grasses could flourish. Some of these are associated with chalk (as opposed to clay which is the soil of this area) such as vetches which now flourish. In 1993 when the Shenley Park Trust assumed Management Responsibility the meadow was deeply rutted and used as a dumping ground. The area was then cleared, ploughed and levelled which allowed the natural seed bank in the soil to re-appear. In the early years poppies flourished together with Ox-eye Daisy and Bugle but now grasses and vetches are dominating the meadow. A regime of mowing and bailing the meadow is now in place to encourage the growth of the wildflowers. Many of the species are “field weeds” which were abundant before the intensive farming that we have today.
See Nature page for a full list of the flowers and grasses found in the Meadow today. The bank at the top of the Meadow is a spring line between the London Clay and the glacial gravels that crest the ridge on which Shenley is situated. The housing construction work above the bank caused the springs to shift laterally and altered their flows so that bottom of the meadow was water-logged for long periods of time. In 2001 a major clay drain was uncovered and diverted to the natural ditch which itself was uncovered in 1991, so reducing this water logging and allowing the recovery of the trees in this area.