The Victorian Walled Garden at Summerfields

The Victorian Walled Garden
Bohemia House and Summerfields

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Victorian Walled Garden
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These pictures are a little out-of-date - update will follow as soon as I've got new ones.

The walled garden located at O/S map reference TQ 80950975 was built after construction of Bohemia House click here for bigger picture It was constructed on sloping ground and on the northwest, northeast, and southeast are substantial retaining walls constructed outside the walled garden in order to retain the hillside	The rear wall, from the sealed doorway looking south
Detail of the outside rear wall showing the english bond brickwork and rings & wires used to hold pear trees to the wall. Local Historian, Ron Fellows, relates how he used to 'scrump' pears there during the war.	The most seriously damaged corner, see bottom right of map above or click here for larger map
The walled garden is constructed of brick being 234' long and 84' wide and just over 12' high without any buttresses. The 1' 2" wide wall is constructed in English Bond style and is topped by a sandstone plinth.( The Buildings of Sussex Nicholas Pesvner Glossary page 649) The external southwest side of the walled garden is attractively faced in sandstone. From ground level the 45 courses of bricks making a total of about 105,000 bricks used above ground. The current entrance is located on the northwestern edge of the long side and there is an indication of a bricked up door on the centre of the north East Side. Both on the inside and outside walls there are hundreds of metal eyes once used for climbing plants. At the centre of the long wall adjacent to the pond there is an indication of a pump on the 1873 map. This is likely to have been a source of water for the garden and may have been the reason for the construction of the pond. On the north side of garden at the centre of the wall is a blocked up entrance that is likely to have given access to a ramp up to a higher area of the garden. The 1873 map also shows a short flight of steps up the embankment near to the existing entrance door. This feature still remains covered in bramble and ivy.
The very attractive sandstone facing to the wall	Obscured by ivy on the outside, this damaged section shows how the sandstone facing was effected (Victorian Stone Cladding?)
Benchmark on the wall - the height above sea level is recorded on the 1873 map above	The steps mentioned in the text above are beneath these brambles
The wall at the southwest corner of the garden has collapsed and the possibility of rebuilding should be investigated. Currently Mr Jim Corrigan the Borough Conservation Officer is investigating proposals for its restoration.
Looking to the inside top left of the garden, notice the staining of decay where coping stones are missing from the top of the wall, if these were replaced the wall would probably last another 130 years.	The entrance to the garden, from the overgrown steps, the wall changes from brick to sandstone faced

Click here for Hillsborough Walled Garden and list of many others - Hastings Borough Council might find some inspiration here!

050122 010706 050904 070618 071123