Not the weather for gardening
On March 1st, the ‘Beast from the East’ – the very cold weather from Siberia – was still bringing snow and bitter winds across Warwickshire, but it didn’t stop our monthly social group ‘In the Ballroom’ at the Court House.
There were smaller numbers than usual for the talk, tea, cake and conversation session, but those who braved the cold were treated to a fascinating talk about the restoration of Guy’s Cliffe Garden, which you can find behind Hinton’s Nursery on the Coventry Road.
Tony Brown, one of the originators of the restoration project, explained that the walled garden, dating back to 1770, provided kitchen produce for the big house at Guy’s Cliffe, and won prizes at county shows for the quality of its produce.
But in the late 1940s it fell into disrepair and eventually became derelict and overgrown with nettles, scrub and even some small trees inside the walls.
Four years ago, a group of local people decided that this old garden should be restored. With the work carried out entirely by dedicated volunteers, the garden has been transformed. It is now an English Heritage Site of Special Interest and has featured on BBC Gardeners’ World.
The garden will be open to the public from April to the end of October on Wednesdays, Fridays, Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays. Entrance is free.
The April edition of the social gathering ‘In the Ballroom’ will be on Thursday 5th, when guests are invited to bring their old photos of Warwick.
And there will be a special presentation by Unlocking Warwick’s Christine Shaw of a new project, to uncover the stories behind the names on the War Memorial in Church Street and develop a website with all the details of local people commemorated there.
In this centenary year of the 2018 Armistice, the challenge will be to find as much information as we can about the 358 names on the memorial of Warwickians who died in the Great War.
So if you have information or photos of relatives from Warwick who died in WWI, please bring them along on April 5th at 2pm.
The May edition of In the Ballroom on 3rd will feature a talk by Trevor Langley about Warwick’s canals – including the building of the Grand Union which was so important in the Industrial Revolution.
‘In the Ballroom’ happens from 2pm on the first Thursday of each month (except June when it will be the second Thursday). It costs just £2 per person to cover the cost of the tea. Please spread the word if you know of someone who would enjoy an afternoon with a talk, usually a quiz, and plenty of time to chat over tea, coffee and cake.
For more information call the Town Council office on 01926 411694.