July 2016 Growing with the Stars Garden Design Brief for Teignmouth Walled Garden and Observatory Clive Webb Foresight Gardening Enterprises CIC
CONTENTS 3 Background... 2 4 Walled Garden Design objectives... 2 4.1 Garden usage... 2 5 History of the site... 3 6 Terms of reference for the garden designer... 4 6.1 What will be required within the garden?... 4 6.2 Essential structures required within the garden... 4 6.3 Structures outside the garden... 4 6.4 Walls... 4 6.5 Interpretation boards... 5 7 Arrangement of the site... 5 7.1 Services... 6 8 Contract for a garden designer... 7 9 Budget... 7 10 Additional Information... 7 11 Present day... 11 11.1 Historical Extract... 12 1
1 BACKGROUND Foresight Gardening Enterprises CIC was established in 2013 with a mission to assist individuals who have a visual impairment to gain new skills, confidence and experience through horticulture; enabling them to gain employment, improve their sense of wellbeing and engage with their local community. Foresight are working in Partnership with Teignmouth Community School to restore an early Victorian walled garden within the grounds of the school and hope to secure Our Heritage Lottery funding to enable this to happen. Within the garden, is a fairly basic observatory which houses a 10 telescope dating back to the 1940s and was used by local astronomer Hedley Robinson. The observatory was launched by Sir Patrick Moore in 1996. Whilst the observatory is somewhat out of place within the garden, it nevertheless represents an important part of the garden s history and wherever possible the observatory needs to be included in the overall garden design. The garden has been neglected for the best part of a decade and until recently was completely overgrown. The site has now been cleared of vegetation and we are now seeking a garden design which will form part of our Heritage Lottery Fund application. 2 WALLED GARDEN DESIGN OBJECTIVES 2.1 GARDEN USAGE The garden from development stage through to ongoing maintenance, will be used as a volunteer and training resource for visually impaired people who are interested in gardening and in some cases wish to train for a career in horticulture. On average there will be 10-12 visually impaired volunteers/trainees working on the project at any one time. The garden design needs to provide: Educational - Hands -on training in basic horticultural techniques and practices within the space for visually impaired gardeners and potentially other hard to reach groups Productive- growing high-quality for sale locally, maybe certified organic vegetables, cut flowers, soft fruits and some top and bush fruits trained on the existing walls of the Victorian kitchen garden. Also the use of a lean to growing house for propagation of vegetable seedlings growing of pot plants for sale 2
Visitor attraction Be open to the general public as a part of the tourism offer of places of horticultural and social history interest in Teignmouth and Shaldon and an attractive garden Heritage restoration historically accurate information on the walled garden, the site and previous owners and the observatory. Some heritage planting will be required. Other planting may show how varieties have developed over the past 150 years. Astronomical connections - Use of the observatory building in the middle of the garden which will house the existing telescope presently stored in Teignmouth Community School. Originally owned by John Hedley Robinson (1905-1991) but donated by his son Donald Fletcher Hedley Robinson (1935-2007) and officially opened in 1996 by the well known amateur astronomer Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell- Moore (1923-2012) 3 HISTORY OF THE SITE Name changes for the old house /site and function 1850 1857 (Hennons) owned by William Brooks King Renamed Trevervan in 1866, owned by the Martin family Became Everest Hospital, bought by Lord Cable of Lindridge for 1914-18 war Captain F Shaw bought the property and renamed it Mount Everest 1923 Mount Everest was bought by the Ballard family Albert Casanova Ballard died in August 1942 There is still a trust in his name which gives education grants to boys World War two Mount Everest was used as a military hospital for the US Navy After the D-Day landings it was used by evacuees from Aske s Boy s School in London. 1951 it became a boarding hostel for girls and has been a school of various kinds ever since See 6 to the mile maps of the site at http://maps.nls.uk/os/6inch-england-andwales/index.html 3
4 TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE GARDEN DESIGNER 4.1 WHAT WILL BE REQUIRED WITHIN THE GARDEN? Pathways with no kerbs for motorized/wheel chairs and other disabled means of movement, preferably with no steps or steep inclines Surfaces of pathways to be user friendly and not to be of tarmacadam if possible Railings near the pathways maybe needed 4.2 ESSENTIAL STRUCTURES REQUIRED WITHIN THE GARDEN 10-15 raised beds preferably of timber for wheelchair users (final numbers to be decided) Work/potting shed type structure on the level and be open sided for ease of access of mobility vehicles and motorized wheel chairs Lean to glasshouse or double skinned polythene house-growing house Tool and equipment store Toilets and washing facilities for disabled and able bodied persons Use accessible composting toilet for example see http://www.freerangedesigns.co.uk/index.php/compost-toilet-with-disabledaccess.html Simple movable wooden cold frames Simple bird protection of posts and wires and bird proof netting for vegetables and soft fruit 4.3 STRUCTURES OUTSIDE THE GARDEN Large polythene tunnel with netted sides for maximum ventilation to be erected in land on the outside to East of the Garden 4.4 WALLS Galvanised fixings with wires required for the training of climbing plants on the walls. All walls to be utilized. These fittings and plantings will not be carried out until the inside and top of the wall is repaired 4
4.5 INTERPRETATION BOARDS To have information in accessible fonts explaining the history of the site and the uses of a Victorian Walled Kitchen Garden. Innovative ways of presenting information for all including the visually impaired. Use of apps linked to online resources. Interpretation area set aside near entrance or in structure around the telescope which can also be used as a meet and greet area Plant labels to explain the fruit and vegetable varieties used 5 ARRANGEMENT OF THE SITE The site is on quite a steep slope and may require a contour map before the design can be started. Site of the garden will need to be leveled as much as possible for ease of cultivation and layout of pathways. Pathways to follow what a typical walled garden would have had in Victorian times e.g. A perimeter pathway with enough bed space beside the walls to allow the planting and cultivation to be carried out On the old O. S. maps no pathways are shown so best use of the site should be made. The existing pathway may not be in an ideal position and there will be a cost to have it removed or the materials from it to be relocated and reused in the garden Maximum use of the walls for growing should be made and structures attached to the walls should be growing houses of glass or polythene not sheds A work area /potting shed might be incorporated into an area around the existing observatory. Wherever possible the observatory needs to remain as a feature of the heritage of the site. Siting of a green waste composting area needs to be considered it does not need to be fixed and can be moved around The site is quite restricted in terms of access for machinery etc and this needs to be consider for both the development stage and on-going maintenance. 5
The designer where possible should consider the garden in terms of a number of project areas which may be separately funded. Costing for these work areas will be required. The intention is for Foresight Gardening Enterprises to complete the work with limited external contractor input if possible. The design at this stage should not include specific planting. This can be done by our project team, however, as a guide we will be aiming to use: old top fruit varieties grown and specific to Devon and heritage seeds of vegetables are reasonably easy to obtain today. The garden should start off using modern vegetable varieties initially so those using the site get used to growing them. Many of the older varieties are not so easy to grow and are prone to pests and diseases 5.1 SERVICES The walled garden will need the installation of a metered water and electricity supply. Water Required for the irrigation of vegetables and top and soft fruit to be grown in the garden and to be used in the growing structure and work area under cover Irrigation should be provided by fixed low level standpipes with standard GEKA fittings for hosepipe connection in standard covers or for connecting up to trickle irrigation lines. Stand pipes and fittings exposed especially during winter need to be provided with protection The siting of these points and the installation of the pipe work needs to be discussed in advance so that the pipe work is installed early on in the construction so the minimum of disturbance occurs Electricity Required for the operation and use of the telescope To provide lighting and supply for small electric tools and equipment that may be used in the covered work area Power supply possibly required in the covered growing area? To provide lighting during the night on pathway/s leading to the telescope and during the winter months for the use of the work area. Perhaps extra lighting at the entrance to the walled garden 6
The siting of the power supply runs needs to be discussed in advance for the same reasons as the water supply installation 6 CONTRACT FOR A GARDEN DESIGNER A set time frame and regular meetings will be agreed with the design. The funding framework has tight deadlines The design brief is being sent to a number of local garden designers for consideration. Informal responses are invited at this stage 7 BUDGET We are currently working to an initial budget of around 45,000. This does not include the repair to the walls or project management costs. The key, in terms of the garden design, is to establishing the layout of the garden so that the rest of the project can be developed over time. It would be useful if various elements were seen as individual projects so that a range of funding application can be put together as well as the main HLF. The garden design will need to estimate costings for the materials required to establish a garden layout. Wherever possible, the development work will be completed by Foresight Gardening Enterprises and will form part of the volunteering and training experience for visually impaired gardeners rather than contractors. Whilst the Observatory is a key feature of the garden, this element should not be included in the budget as separate project funding is being applied for. 8 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION The following pages include: 1. Garden outline with measurements 2. 1850s map of the site 3. Google satellite image of the site 4. Selections of photographs 5. Historical extract 7
8
1887? 9
10
9 PRESENT DAY Taken from the main entrance showing the observatory Wall from outside the garden. This area could be used for the main poly tunnels to save space in the main garden area. Looking back towards the main entrance. The observatory is on the left and shows the original colour it is now painted green. 11
Looking to the left of the observatory A short YouTube clip can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aejiywrmf5s 9.1 HISTORICAL EXTRACT A legacy from John Herbert Hedley Robinson In the February 1997 issue of Engineering First (the journal of the Engineering Council) there is a small footnote entitled "Stargazers' bargain." It describes the construction of an observatory at Teignmouth Community College, Devon, organised by a band of local engineers and carried out at nominal cost by contractors. This observatory - opened by Patrick Moore - houses a 10.25- inch Newtonian donated by John Herbert Hedley Robinson's son Donald Fletcher Hedley Robinson (1935-2007) Members will recall that Hedley was Mercury and Venus Section Director between 1965 and 1979 and that he lived in Teignmouth. His observatory regularly featured in books and made use of golf balls to provide the support for the rotating roof. It is gratifying to know that his equipment will continue to be used by local people and hopefully will be put to good use in the community. I hope that the telescope or observatory will be named in his honour. Dr Andrew J. Hollis Ansteys Lea, Clay Lane, Marton, Cheshire CW7 2QE 12