Pines Garden is a house and large garden, located on the winding beach road from St Margaret's at Cliffe village down to the beach at St Margeret's Bay, near

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

History

Fred Cleary

Frederick Ernest Cleary (1905-1984)

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, was originally a

Chartered Surveyor Chartered Surveyor is the description (protected by law in many countries) of Professional ''Members'' and ''Fellows'' of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) entitled to use the designation (and a number of variations such as "Charte ...

from

Crouch End Crouch End is an area of North London, approximately from the City of London in the western half of the borough of Haringey. It is within the Hornsey postal district (N8). It has been described by the BBC as one of "a new breed of urban villag ...

, London. Later, he formed a very successful company ‘Haslemere Estates’, who refurbished many of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

’s fine old buildings during the 70's and 80's. In 1970, he formed the Bay Trust to 'preserving the natural environment in the proximity of St. Margaret’s Bay and undertaking related environmental education initiatives'. This was due to his work in inner London, where he created green and restful spaces in the City, often on the site of bomb damaged sites. His philanthropic activities and his writing of two books ‘Beauty and the Borough’ and ‘The Flowering City’, resulting in him earning the nickname ‘Flowering Fred’. In 1975 Fred purchased and refurbished an old rectory building ('Ripple Down House') in

Ringwould Ringwould is a village and electoral ward near Deal in Kent, England. The coastal confederation of Cinque Ports during its mediaeval period consisted of a confederation of 42 towns and villages in all. This included Ringwould, as a 'limb' of Dov ...

. This became an environmental education centre for children. Alistair Gould, the founder's grandson is on the current trust.

Garden

The Bay Trust bought the house and the gardens in 1960s. Edda Jones, an artist, was staying in the house, while the Trust added to the garden before they opened it to the public But later the cottage would be demolished as it was not energy inefficient and could not be converted. The trust then opened the garden to the public. The garden has many features including a

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

and adjoining lake, a grass

labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...

and an

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

kitchen garden with around 40 different species of fruit and vegetables. The garden has been run organically since 2002. Due to the ethos of the Trust management, who wish to work in harmony with nature and this includes recycling, composting and uses natural predators to control pests The garden also has a statue of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

Oscar Nemon Oscar Nemon (born Oscar Neumann; 13 March 1906 – 13 April 1985) was a Croatian sculptor who was born in Osijek, Croatia, but eventually settled in England. He is best known for his series of more than a dozen public statues of Winston Churchill, ...

. The garden also hosts many projects by

contemporary artist Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

The Calyx Centre

Note: Calyx means "husk" or "pod" and the centre is pod shaped. Built on the demolished site of the original bungalow of the garden. The conference centre (built to passiv-haus standards) was designed, by a collaborative team of 'Helionix Designs' (

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

"Alistair Gould"),

Structural Engineer Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants. Their work takes account mainly of safety, technical, economic ...

"Cameron Taylor" (now part of

Scott Wilson Group Scott Wilson Group plc was a global integrated design and engineering consultancy with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. Founded as a civil engineering firm in 1951, the company broadened its range of services through acquisitions. Scott ...

)and 'Conker Conservation'. The Bay Trust and designers are all members of the 'Carbon Free Group'. It has

pneumatic Pneumatics (from Greek ‘wind, breath’) is a branch of engineering that makes use of gas or pressurized air. Pneumatic systems used in Industrial sector, industry are commonly powered by compressed air or compressed inert gases. A central ...

rammed

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...

walls (maximum thickness of 650mm). Its domed roof (

Catalan vault The Catalan vault ( ca, volta catalana), also called thin-tile vault, Catalan turn, Catalan arch, boveda ceiling (Spanish ''bóveda'' 'vault'), or timbrel vault, is a type of low brickwork arch forming a vaulted ceiling that often supports a floor ...

) uses techniques patented by Spanish-American architect

Rafael Guastavino Rafael Guastavino Moreno (; March 1, 1842 February 1, 1908) was a Spanish building engineer and builder who immigrated to the United States in 1881; his career for the next three decades was based in New York City. Based on the Catalan vault, h ...

in 1885. 'Rings of local clay tiles are glued together with fast setting

gypsum plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

to form a self-supporting dome that is constantly in a state of compression'. The project was completed in Autumn 2006. Total

embodied energy Embodied energy is the sum of all the energy required to produce any goods or services, considered as if that energy was incorporated or 'embodied' in the product itself. The concept can be useful in determining the effectiveness of energy-produ ...

of the building is calculated to be 299 MJ/m2, while

embodied carbon One way of attributing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is to measure the embedded emissions of goods that are being consumed (also referred to as "embodied emissions", "embodied carbon emissions", or "embodied carbon"). This is different from the ...

is 33 kg /m2. This is compared to 1393 MJ/m2 and 147 kg /m2 for a similar concrete building shell. The result is a venue that achieves savings of 66% in target energy consumption and 67% in target emissions. Hot water is supplied via solar thermal panels, while a small woodchips-fed

biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...

generator produces heat for an

underfloor heating Underfloor heating and cooling is a form of central heating and cooling that achieves indoor climate control for thermal comfort using hydronic or electrical heating elements embedded in a floor. Heating is achieved by conduction, radiation and ...

system if additional warmth is required. Water management is also another essential part of the design. The water supply comes from a sustainably managed bore-hole with all

rainwater Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water fo ...

run-off feeding back into this supply.

Grey Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

and black water is fed through a reed bed filter and the resulting cleaned water is then can be used to feed the Pines Garden plants. It claims to be the first conference building in Europe to reach beyond carbon neutral and become

carbon negative Carbon dioxide removal (CDR), also known as negative emissions, is a process in which carbon dioxide gas () is removed from the atmosphere and sequestered for long periods of time. Similarly, greenhouse gas removal (GGR) or negative greenho ...

. It also has a grass roof. The venue is available for private hire and gained a licence for wedding and other ceremonies.

St. Margaret’s Museum

St. Margaret's Museum and The Pines Garden Tea Room are located at Pines Garden. The museum features changing displays about local history including St Margaret's during WW2, and one-time resident

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

. Other topics focus on area natural history and the environment.

Awards

Since opening in 2006, the Calyx has won several regional, national and international awards. * Kent Business Environment Award 2006 * Winner of the Building magazine Sustainability Awards 2007, Sustainable Building of the Year (small project) Award * The Sustainable City Award 2007 (organised by the

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...

) * Winner of the Special Small Project of the Year category

Institution of Structural Engineers The Institution of Structural Engineers is a professional body for structural engineering based in the United Kingdom. The Institution has over 30,000 members operating in over 100 countries. The Institution provides professional accreditation ...

Building Awards 2007 (see also

Structural Awards The Institution of Structural Engineers' Structural Awards have been awarded for the structural design of buildings and infrastructure since 1968. The awards were re-organised in 2006 to include ten categories and the Supreme Award for structural ...

) * David Alsop Sustainability Award, Commendation (also Institution of Structural Engineers Building Awards 2007) * Overall Winner of the

Kent Design Awards These awards were created to celebrate design excellence in Kent and were first staged in 2003 and are usually held every two years. They were then renamed 'Kent Design and Development Awards' in 2012. Then have stayed as the 'Kent Design and Deve ...

in 2007/2008. * Best Small Building (under £1 million), Winner * The roof helped 'Accurate Roofing' being nominated at the 'Flat Roofing Alliance' awards in London.

References

{{reflist

External links

The Pines Garden Tea Room & Museum
- official site
The Pines Calyx conference centre (also includes two videos about the Calyx Construction)

Flickr photo gallery
Gardens in Kent Sustainable building Low-energy building Houses in Kent Local museums in Kent