Cable Street Community Gardens was ‘…founded in the late 1970’s as part of a Friends of the Earth initiative reclaiming derelict land for local community use…’ by an intrepid lady and a few friends and is now a haven of peace, productivity, and wild life on either side of the DLR in Tower Hamlets. ‘Community’ is…
Fann Street Wildlife Garden puzzled me slightly – perhaps my visit was too brief during the Open Squares Weekend in London. However, it was the one garden which left me thinking.
The 4.5 acres of Belgrave Square were planted by Thomas Cubitt in 1826 – today it is quite simply stunning – parkland in the centre of London for residents of the square. Eaton Square was started in 1826 for the Duke of Westminster, the landowner. Chester Square was laid out in 1828-40 by the first Duke of Westminster and his…
I visited several squares on Sunday 14 June – all amazing! Kensington Square is one of the earliest garden squares in London, with layout beginning in 1692. Queen’s Gate Gardens was laid out in the 1860s and we were asked to note the mulberry tree and the catalpa, both from the original plantings. Hereford Square was built between 1845-50…
Sunday 14 June, the second day of the Open Squares Weekend, started very early at The Roof Gardens on Kensington High Street – what a fantastic place! The Roof Gardens covers 1.5 acres on the roof of the former Derry and Toms building on Kensington High Street and is now owned by Sir Richard Branson. In 1853 Joseph Toms started…
I visited gardens in the City of London during the Open Squares & Gardens Weekend and although Saturday 13 June (!) was cold and grey there were wonderful sights. St Joseph’s Garden, EC1 8LE, is a tiny, quiet, green space. The Golden Baggers, EC1Y 0ST, is a really imaginative enterprise in the middle of a housing estate…
The Girdlers’ Livery Company dates back to Mediaeval times and is no.23 by precedence. The original building of 1431 burned down in 1666, and the second Hall was destroyed in WWII. All the Halls have been built on roughly the original site bequeathed by Andrew Hunt in 1431 in today’s Basinghall Avenue. Today, with girdles no longer…
It was a cold, grey day but what a fantastic start to a day of visiting gardens during the Open Squares Weekend in London – Nomura International PLC The vegetable garden is very productive! And the view…