Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden is a historic

walled garden A walled garden is a garden enclosed by high walls, especially when this is done for horticultural rather than security purposes, although originally all gardens may have been enclosed for protection from animal or human intruders. In temperate c ...

Grappenhall Grappenhall is a suburb of Warrington in the civil parish of Grappenhall and Thelwall, which had a population of 9,377 at the 2001 census. History Grappenhall is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 with the name ''Gropenhale'' and with a val ...

, Warrington, Cheshire, England. The garden was built by Thomas Parr around 1830 as both a

pleasure garden A pleasure garden is a park or garden that is open to the public for recreation and entertainment. Pleasure gardens differ from other public gardens by serving as venues for entertainment, variously featuring such attractions as concert halls, ...

for relaxing strolls and as a

kitchen garden The traditional kitchen garden, vegetable garden, also known as a potager (from the French ) or in Scotland a kailyaird, is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden – the ornamental plants and lawn areas. It is used for grow ...

to produce fruit, vegetables, and herbs. After a period of decline, the garden was restored first by

English Partnerships English Partnerships (EP) was the national regeneration agency for England, performing a similar role on a national level to that fulfilled by regional development agencies on a regional level. On 1 December 2008 its powers passed to a successor ...

and then by the local parish council in conjunction with the friends of the garden.

History

The walled garden was built around 1830 by

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

banker Thomas Parr to accompany a mansion house. Thomas Parr's father, Joseph Parr, founded

Parr's Bank Parr's Bank Limited was a bank that existed from 1782 to 1918. It was founded as Parr & Co. in Warrington, then in the county of Lancashire in the United Kingdom. In 1918 it was acquired by London County and Westminster Bank, and it was thus one ...

and Thomas was appointed Chairman of the bank. Before opening the bank, Joseph Parr had made his wealth in the sugar refining industry that supported the

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

in the British West Indies. Parr's bank amalgamated through acquisitions into the

NatWest National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it ...

. Unusually, Parr included both a pleasure garden and a kitchen garden within the same boundary wall. In addition to enjoying their garden, the Parr family held frequent

galas In Greek mythology, Galas (; Ancient Greek: Γάλας ''Gálas'') was the eponymous founder of the Gauls. He was the son of Polyphemos and Galatea and the brother of Illyrius and Celtus In Greek mythology, Celtus (; grc, Κέλτος ''Keltos'' ...

and special events for the community. One annual event called "

Beating the Bounds Beating the bounds or perambulating the bounds is an ancient custom still observed in parts of England, Wales, and the New England region of the United States, which traditionally involved swatting local landmarks with branches to maintain a shared ...

" involved a walk around the boundaries of the townships of

Lymm Lymm is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England, which incorporates the hamlets of Booths Hill, Broomedge, Church Green, Deansgreen, Heatley, Heatley Heath, Little Heatley, Oughtrington, Reddish, Rushgreen and ...

, Appleton, and Grappenhall, which included the garden. Historical records suggest that the estate was at its height from 1875 to 1899. By the 1950s, the estate had become derelict and parts of it were sold off. The house was demolished in the 1970s and the garden passed to

for renovation. In 2005 control of the garden passed to Grappenhall and Thelwall Parish Council, which continued restoration in conjunction with a community group called "The Friends of Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden". In 2012 the garden was given a

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

award towards repair of the Victorian glasshouses and completion of the restoration.

Description

Pleasure garden

There is a

with

herbaceous border A herbaceous border is a collection of perennial herbaceous plants (plants that live for more than two years and are soft-stemmed and non-woody) arranged closely together, usually to create a dramatic effect through colour, shape or large scale. ...

s, specimen trees, wooded copses, and three ponds. An 1829

tithe map The term tithe map is usually applied to a map of an English or Welsh parish or township, prepared following the Tithe Commutation Act 1836. This act allowed tithes to be paid in cash rather than goods. The map and its accompanying schedule gave ...

shows the ponds were originally

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part o ...

pits created by small-scale marl extraction. Over time the ponds became heavily silted up, but were sufficiently deep to obscure workers below ground level when they were eventually excavated during restoration. The footpath around the pleasure garden was named the "Master's Walk".

Kitchen garden

There is a

which produces fruits, vegetables, and herbs, cultivated by the Warrington Organic Gardening Society. Varieties of

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the p ...

and more than 20 varieties of

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

are grown in a small orchard. Grapes and tomatoes are cultivated in fully restored glasshouses. Surplus fruits and vegetables are sold to the public.

Facilities

The garden is a popular attraction in Warrington. Facilities include a cafe, toilets, and free access. In recognition of its high standards, in 2018 the garden was given its second

Green Flag Award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...

, a benchmark national standard for publicly accessible parks and green spaces in the United Kingdom.

References