A Charnwood Forest village has had its seventeenth-century garden recreated thanks to the research and support of the Geopark.
The story begins in Leicestershire’s County Record Office, where our Education Officer, Susan Kilby, discovered a document that outlines in extraordinary detail the garden of Robert Alfounder, Rector of Thurcaston, 1668-1700. Just a few years later, new Rector Richard Hill founded the original village school, complete with its own garden and orchard – just like the Rector’s own garden.
This gave Susan an idea, and, working with artist Mandeep Dhadialla, partner organisation Charnwood Arts, and Richard Hill CE Primary School in Thurcaston, we devised a plan to recreate the Rector’s garden in the school hall for a public event. Every child in the school was involved making leaves, fruits and vegetables for the installation. The 1st Thurcaston Brownies and Geopark volunteers also rolled up their sleeves to help, making it a real community effort. Visitors were able to walk amongst the many delights of the Rector’s garden – including the island where he grew his cabbages, a ‘filbeard’ or hazelnut walk, and an orchard of apple trees. We also knew from the document that the Rector grew a heritage apple called ‘John’, and to celebrate this, the Geopark arranged for a new ‘John’ apple tree to be grafted, and this was planted at the event by students alongside a companion apple – St Ailred, assisted by Reverend Matthew Gough, the current Rector in the Benefice of Anstey, Thurcaston and Cropston.
Commenting on the amazing details within the document discovered in the Record Officer, Susan said: “We know that the garden had a fig tree, and that in 1694, the rector’s gardeners grew 60 cabbages on an island! This was probably a slightly raised area surrounded by a small ditch, to deter pests like rabbits from eating the rector’s crops,”
Following the successful event, artist Mandeep Dhadialla said: “It’s been wonderful to bring the heritage back to life. Creating the garden has been a unique collaborative experience. Tying it together with the planting of the tree is quite special.”
You can discover more about our Rector’s Garden project with Richard Hill Primary School on the BBC Leicester website, and through this interview for BBC Radio Leicester.
If you’d like to see the Rector’s garden, part of the installation is now in All Saints Church, Thurcaston, for the next few weeks.
Thank you to all the organisations involved, the students and volunteers who worked so hard to produce the artistic recreation of the Rector’s Garden, and everyone who came to visit this very special event. Geopark events like this, celebrating the rich heritage of Charnwood Forest, are made possible thanks to the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Image by Rod Kirkpatrick.