Garden News: Celebrated Gardener Officially Opens New Saltash Attraction
Posted Apr 03, 2008 - 06:07 PM
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David Howard, head gardener at HRH Prince of Wales’ Highgrove Estate, has officially opened a new tourist attraction in Saltash in the form of an Elizabethan style garden nestled behind Mary Newman’s Cottage, itself a novel Tudor Museum located in Culver Road...
Over 100 volunteers, local dignitaries, architects, landscapers and consultants involved in the historical project gathered on a glorious sunny day in the beautiful, authentic garden to be rewarded for their combined effort and hard graft, originally set in motion by heritage lottery funding two years ago.
The celebrated gardener praised the work of all those involved in creating the historic gem, cut a trail of ivy hanging from the tunnel arbour and planted a Cornish Aromatic apple tree to mark the occasion. “The first impression you get of the garden is one of complete spaciousness. So much has been successfully fitted in whilst giving the illusion of great size and scale,” said David Howard who hopes that the garden will attain official organic status, thus befitting the techniques used to create and maintain it.
Guests were treated to Tudor food that included Jumbles (biscuits made with fennel seeds), Brie tarts and Sippets (small slices of bread) laden with Bartlemass beef, Oke and Sharpham Cheese as well as eggs in mustard sauce. Washed down with hot Tamar Valley apple and cinnamon Posset, the Elizabethan tableaux was served up by historical interpreters ‘Pastpresent’ who brought the period alive with their hand made Tudor costumes, traditional interactions and mannerisms. The musical backdrop was provided by local renaissance wind band ‘Toote Ensemble’, who were also dressed in character whilst playing their recorders, lutes, pipes and early reeded instruments.
"Congratulations,” said Sam Hunt from the Heritage Lottery Fund. “I’m continually amazed by what can be achieved by small, community projects. The volunteers have done a wonderful job of breathing atmosphere into the garden, which is now full of character, and have successfully extended visitor access, one of their prime goals,” he added.
“This beautiful garden offers yet another wonderful attraction to Saltash,”says Councillor Bob Austin, Mayor of Saltash. “All set for the summer season, it will undoubtedly give a boost to the local tourism industry,” he adds.
With magnificent views of the River Tamar and Brunel’s historic railway bridge, the Elizabethan style garden incorporates authenticity, practicality and aesthetics that reflect the inside of the Merchant’s House. This Grade II listed property, reputedly the first home of Francis Drake’s young wife Mary Newman is the oldest intact house in Saltash (dating to 1480) and owned by Caradon District Council. Twenty years ago it was saved by the TPS, which now leases it, and converted into a fascinating living museum which houses furniture and artefacts on loan from the Victoria & Albert Museum to give an evocative insight into the past.
“It’s a pleasure to see the perpetual survival of this medieval house, complete with its original interior,” says Oliver Prattent, president of the Tamar Protection Society, which has cared for the enchanting cottage since the late 1970’s. “It’s almost unique in the South West in its completeness. Many large houses survived from this period but almost none in the vernacular so that a person from the 15th Century coming inside would not feel out of place.” He adds.
The design drawn up by Peter Leaver of Devon based landscape architects David Wilson Partnership, with input by students from Plymouth College of Art and Design and plant historian Jo Selman includes an oak arbour, willow fencing and walls made from stone quarried locally. Paths of slate chippings lead through the garden to a grassed Tudor mound and at the centre of the garden is an intricate knot, the design of which is echoed in a ceramic motif in the centre of the courtyard. Covered seating and a grassy performance area will be used to serve refreshments and accommodate a wide range of activities like wine tasting, Elizabethan musical evenings and school education days. Many of the plants were sourced by Dawn Morris of Tartendon Nurseries in Landrake with some being donated by HRH The Prince of Wales.
“An amazing amount of work has been done, completely transforming the landscape so that the authenticity of the inside of the house spills out into the garden and provides a complete visitor experience,” says Peter Leaver from the David Wilson Partnership. “With such incredible help from volunteers, we’ve been able to achieve so much more than would have been possible from a more conventional approach,” he adds.
“The plants we’ve chosen are reflective of those used in the Tudor period when wives and mothers used herbs and flowers to great effect for medicinal and culinary purposes as well as air fresheners, hair dye and deodorants,” says Sarah Page, chairperson, Tamar Protection Society. Her husband and project manager John Page adds: “Wherever possible, we’ve used locally sourced materials and traditional building techniques. We’ve also discovered a hoard of other useful little treasures during the excavation from bricks that we’ve recycled for steps to old roots that have been used for foundations in the viewing mound. Nothing has been taken out of the garden. We’ve recycled plants, as well as over 100 tonnes of soil”.
The Cottage is currently open between Easter until the end of October on Wednesday afternoons from 2.00pm – 4.00pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from Midday – 4pm. For more information on the tourist attraction, to volunteer as a steward in the cottage or to help care for the garden, please visit www.tamarprotectionsociety.org.uk or contact Kevin Procter on 07767 444816.
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