Newsletter
April 2022 No. 62
This wonderful Easter weather has certainly helped our gardens burst into life and colour and fills us with high expectation for the year to come. We launch our newly reformatted e-newsletter looking forward to the start of our busy events calendar with our first garden visit and our in-person lecture in the coming weeks. In addition to the two events highlighted below, our full summer garden visit calendar can be viewed at: www.surreygardenstrust.org.uk/events
The showstopper Labyrinth interplanted with white Narcissus ‘Thalia’ and Tulipa ‘Oxford Red’
Arundel Castle Gardens Visit
There is still time to book for our guided garden tour on Tuesday 26 April 2022 starting at 11am.
Details at www.surreygardenstrust.org.uk/events.
The castle was built by Roger de Montgomery Earl of Arundel at the end of the 11th century. Today many of its original features survive, the oldest being the motte, an artificial mound constructed in 1068, followed by the Gatehouse in 1070. The Norman Keep and Barbican also survive. During the Civil War (1642-45) the castle was badly damaged. Some repairs were carried out from around 1718 then eventually between the 1870s and 1890s the house was almost completely rebuilt, with restoration complete in 1900. Meanwhile, its inspiring gardens have been open to the public since 1854.
John Loudon visited and wrote rather scathingly about the castle grounds in The Gardener’s Magazine in 1829: ‘an excellent place for a critic, since there is so much to condemn’. At least, the gardens had been overseen by an excellent head gardener who took ‘most extraordinary and successful care’ of the trees and shrubs. Loudon went on to propose numerous improvements and re-structuring so that the grounds ‘may be rendered amongst the finest in England’. Over the ensuing centuries many changes were implemented, but the lack of an overall plan was still evident in 1989.
The gardens fell into decline after WW2 and by the 1970s were virtually derelict; a large part was the turned into a visitors’ car park.
The present (18th) Duke and Duchess of Norfolk (Edward and Georgina Fitzalan-Howard) moved permanently to the castle in 1987 and embarked on a restoration programme. A large part of the walled garden/former car park was reclaimed for use as the organic kitchen garden and about a third became a new project: a tribute to Thomas Howard, the 14th Earl of Arundel. ‘The Collector Earl’ was patron to Rubens, Van Dyck and Inigo Jones, and amassed a famous collection of artworks and classical marble sculptures which were displayed at his Thameside property in London - Arundel House. Glimpses of the house and gardens (though perhaps imaginary) can be seen in the backgrounds of portraits by Daniel Myttens of the Earl and his wife and these were the inspiration for Isabel and Julian Bannerman who were commissioned to design the new ‘Collector Earl’s Garden’ which opened in 2008. The aim was to evoke the spirit of a grand Jacobean garden in swaggering style, rather than to create an accurate historic reconstruction
Its large-scale architectural structures including gateways, pavilions and the centrepiece, Oberon’s Palace with a grotto and fountain, are replicas of Inigo Jones’s original designs for Arundel House and are, unusually, crafted from green oak. At first, this new garden was considered by some critics to be over-designed, and the planting rather ‘thin’, but with time it has settled in, greatly enhanced by the maturing plants and the influence of the current head gardener, Martin Duncan, who arrived in 2009.
Our visit coincides with the annual Tulip Festival, showing 130 named varieties, and with 60,000 tulips added for this year (hopefully flowering for us!). Displays are to be found throughout the gardens, the showstopper being the Labyrinth interplanted with white Narcissus ‘Thalia’ and Tulipa ‘Oxford Red’ (see photo above). Narcissus, camassias, alliums and tulips are also showcased, notably in the American Grounds among recently planted apple trees (also featuring a superb 180-200 year old Cork Oak). The tranquil White Garden by the Fitzalan chapel (1380) features Tulipa ‘White Triumphator’ partnered with white wallflowers. The Woodland Garden has a darker palette of purple tulips and camassias.
Other areas to explore include classic English herbaceous borders sheltered by clipped yew hedges and buttresses; striking Tropical borders; a quirky, atmospheric Stumpery built by Martin Duncan and team, imaginatively planted with not only ferns, but a whole variety of other architectural plants. The abundant organic kitchen garden and glasshouse supply the castle with organic fruit, vegetables and flowers.
by Anna Cade
Borde Hill Garden lecture
It will be an enormous treat to welcome Vanessa Berridge to Ashtead Peace Memorial Hall on Thursday, 5 May at 7.00 pm, to give us our first illustrated in-person talk since 2019. You will recall that it was Vanessa who gave our first Zoom lecture in October 2020, talking about Kiftsgate Court Gardens following the publication of her prize-winning book. In May, she will be talking to us about the extraordinary historic gardens at Borde Hill, the subject of her new book out on 28 April this year.
Please do buy your tickets and join us for this evening event. Refreshments, including wine will be served.
Details are at www. eventbrite.co.uk
Chair’s Report
At the AGM in December I talked about some of our plans for 2022. I thought I would let you know how we are getting on.
e-newsletter and e-bulletins
First on the list, you will see that the new look e-newsletter has arrived in your inbox. This is now produced through the website which will make it easily accessible for the majority of our members as well, we hope, to those who are interested in what we do and would like to get involved and support the Trust. It facilitates easier distribution, while still enabling pdf print format for those who prefer to read their communications in hard copy. The idea is to simplify the format so that we can increase the number of e-newsletters, as well as introducing shorter e-bulletins over the year which will be informative of the work that we are engaged in and to keep our members up to date with the events programme.
@surreygardenstrust
I am delighted to announce that we now have a Surrey Gardens Trust Instagram account @surreygardenstrust. There is a wide network of historic landscape heritage organisations sharing their work, comments and indignation (from time to time) through Instagram and we are excited to join this conversation.
As a taster here are some snapshots from @thegardenstrust and @painshillpark pages and an example script which might accompany an image taken from @rhswisley
To join us in this journey you do need to have your own Instagram account. You do not have to use the account which can remain private and for all intents and purposes, invisible. I have attached a copy of the Instagram introduction for your ease of reference. This is accessible at: www.help.instagram.com.
As we start to post on our Instagram account we would love to be able to share images taken by our members. In order to facilitate this we would like to invite you to send us your photos to communicationssurreygt@gmail.com or by WhatsApp to Emily.
Journal publication
Later in the year we will be producing a hard copy journal style publication for our members. This will comprise longer articles and research. Do let me know if you would like to contribute any articles or research that you may have undertaken that is particularly relevant to our members.
New Gertrude Jekyll Noticeboard
Gertrude Jekyll Memorial and Francis McLaren carved wooden headboard, Busbridge ©wikipedia
The Gertrude Jekyll Memorial is located at the south-east corner of the churchyard encircling the Church of St John the Baptist in Busbridge near Godalming. It comprises three stone tomb slabs, placed in front of a stone exedra which is topped by a semi-circular urn. The original inscription read 'In remembrance of Herbert and Gertrude Jekyll long time dwellers in their homes in Munstead who passed to their rest in the Autumn of 1932. ‘Their joy was in the work of their hands: their memorial is the beauty which lives after them'. This was later updated to include reference to Herbert's widow; 'Also of Agnes Jekyll whose spirit ever dwelt in loving kindness'. The memorial was designed by Jekyll's friend and collaborator, Sir Edwin Lutyens and constructed in 1932. It is a Grade II listed structure.
The new Yew Tree Café opened in March 2022 sitting adjacent to this iconic grave and we have been invited to populate a Noticeboard in the entrance to the café with information about Gertrude Jekyll, her work and why the Busbridge churchyard is her resting place. This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase this hugely important figure in Surrey’s historic garden heritage. We will also be referencing Lutyens, not only as a close collaborator with Jekyll through much of her work, but also as the designer of this memorial, a Grade II* War Memorial located within the churchyard and chancel screens in the church itself.
We very much hope that sharing this knowledge with those visiting the café will help us to share our knowledge with a new audience as well as provide us with an opportunity to showcase our work. In addition, we are continuing to work with the Church to restore the hedging providing the backdrop to the memorial, as shown in the archive photograph here, but currently removed.
The Queen’s Green Canopy ‘Plant a Tree for the Jubilee’
After Easter, we will be launching a competition for SGT members to sponsor the sustainable planting of a tree or trees within a green space in Surrey which opens to the public. We will be inviting applicants to write 200 - 300 words explaining where they would like to plant, why and how the proposed tree planting will be maintained for the enjoyment of generations to come. Winning entries will be awarded funding to buy the tree(s), plant and stake them and put in place a maintenance proposal.
Full details to follow but do start to give some thought while you are enjoying your Easter breaks. Perhaps you are part of a community garden group or a Friend of a local park or work in a garden which opens to the public.
Geoffrey Cuttle 1933 - 2022
Remembering a friend
‘I have warm memories of Geoffrey ‘saving the day’ in the Autumn of 2012. At renewal that year we increased our membership subscription for the first time in ages, which meant a lot more contact with members by Bernice Hall, our Membership Secretary, and, in particular, a large number of new standing orders.
For reasons outside Bernice’s control things were not going well, when she fell ill, was taken into hospital and very sadly passed away in August. The membership records were held on a database created and run at County Hall, where Bernice worked. No one else in the Society knew the system, its processes, or its foibles and progress on renewals was stalled.
Step forward Geoffrey to set up the database on his home computer, to learn how to run it and then to complete the update of that year’s renewals. His experience and assistance were truly invaluable.’
David Hanson, Treasurer
We were all deeply saddened to hear of the death of Geoffrey Cuttle, a long standing active member of the Surrey Gardens Trust. Elizabeth, his wife, remembers, ‘ On the SGT visits I was leading, Geoffrey always acted as back-up and his calm presence was always a welcome help when something did not go completely to plan. While Geoffrey was no horticulturist and had little knowledge of plants he greatly appreciated the design and atmosphere of gardens.’
Geoffrey spent all his professional life working in the IT industry being among one of the first professional programmers in the country and a founding member of the British Computer Society.
A renaissance man, Geoffrey appreciated and was knowledgeable about wine and thoroughly enjoyed the buying and serving of wine at the AGM's (which was greatly appreciated by all).
Geoffrey was the founding chairman of what was Mayford Decorative and Fine Arts Society now The Arts Society Mayford and he also used his organisational and IT skills with other groups becoming chairman of Horsell Common Preservation Society during 10 turbulent years and also became chair of Woking Probus, Woking Seniors and the croquet section of Woking Lawn Tennis and Croquet club. He was an excellent croquet player and in the summer, when not exploring gardens with me, would be found on a croquet lawn.
Chertsey Museum Exhibition
Blooming Marvellous: Flowers in fashion, 1700 – 2000
On until 3 September 2022
Whether sculpting cloth to resemble flower heads, weaving blooms into dress fabrics, printing or applying them in the form of embroidery, designers of dress and textiles have long used flowers in their work. The fleeting beauty and unending complexity of the flower has been a constant inspiration; resulting in pieces of huge visual appeal and endless variety.
This exhibition features gorgeous garments selected along a floral theme from the Olive Matthews Collection. Men’s, women’s and children’s dress and accessories from the 18th century to the present day, with beautiful examples of woven, printed, embroidered and sculpted blooms, are displayed in our fresh and fragrant fashion gallery.
Women Gardeners in the 20th Century
Talk by Cherrill Sands
29 April at 2.30pm
Leatherhead Institute KT22 8AH
The twentieth century brought emancipation for women, horticultural colleges and, for some, artistic fulfilment in the garden. Join Cherrill Sands, garden historian and SGT member, for her talk about these creative women and their gardens, including Gertrude Jekyll, Margery Fish, Vita Sackville-West and Beth Chatto, amongst others.
The talk is on behalf of the Leatherhead Community Association (LCA).
Download a booking form here.