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1545
John Gerard,
the most celebrated herbalist and author of the “Historie of Plants” was
born in Nantwich and attended Willaston School. He learned about
plants in the fields and by-ways of Nantwich.
1577 Gerard moved to London and
superintended the gardens belonging to Lord Burleigh in the Strand.
1580 Richard Wilbraham
built his family home, Townsend House, in Welsh Row. He
had four sons who all rose to positions of wealth and honour, and he died
when aged 85.
1596 John Gerard
published a list of plants he had grown in his own garden. This was
the first catalogue of any garden ever published.
1597
John Gerard
published his celebrated “Herball, A Historie of Plants.” He was Herbalist
to the King and notable people.
1617 King James I of
England visited Townsend House and gardens. He visited the church
and walked to the Brine works. He stabled his horses on Kingsley
fields.
1622 Thomas Wilbraham, much
travelled and well educated son of Richard, kept precise records of all
that was purchased for the house and gardens. He would almost certainly
have consulted the “ Herball “ when buying his plants. These
archives are available today and have been researched by David and Doreen
Mason of Nantwich.
1644 During the
siege of Nantwich, Thomas’s son, Roger, was residing at Townsend House
when it was attacked by Royalists and it suffered some damage to
outbuildings, causing a fire. Thomas, a Royalist, refused to give
money to the Parliamentarians but took no part in the Battle and was a
prisoner in his own house.
1819
The house was sold and became
a brewery.
1831
The house was converted into a
clothing factory and was a major employer in the Town.
1906
The house was the Nantwich
Co-operative Boot and Shoe Factory.
1964
The house was again a private
house belonging to a local solicitor and on his death it was demolished
and became a garage and petrol station.
1986 The Old Walled Garden
was Listed Grade 2 by the Department of the Environment.
1996
First Kingsley Farm Planning
Brief produced stating that the old walls should be restored and repaired
before building commenced on Kingsley Fields.
2000 The beautiful old
gateway to the garden was accidentally knocked down after standing for
over 400 years.
2001 (February)
Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council
Planning Brief for building on Kingsley Fields produced “conditional on
the restoration of the Listed Walls of Townsend House.” The Old
Walled Garden was shown as “white” land with no building within it.
2001 (September)
Notice of permission to build on Kingsley Fields. Condition 11
stated: “The reserved matters application which relates to the part of the
site containing the walled garden at the rear of Townsend House shall
include a programme for its restoration, and a design statement to justify
the means by which the area it encloses will be developed. Reason:
To ensure that the walled garden which is a listed building is preserved
and incorporated within the development adequately.”
2002 (April) A
Committee of local people was formed with the aim of saving the Old Walled
Garden for Nantwich.
2003
Application
made
by Bellway Homes to build within the Walled Garden.
2004 (June)
Nantwich Walled Garden Society was formed with the following
aims and with a view to obtaining charitable status and raising money:
lTo
prevent the development of housing on the site of the Old Walled Garden.
lTo
ensure that the Elizabethan walls are fully restored and
re-instated.
lTo
restore the garden in a way that reflects its history, so that it can be
maintained in perpetuity for the enjoyment of residents and visitors to
Nantwich.
2004 (July) The Development
Control Committee of Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council refused the
application by Bellway Homes to build flats within the Walled Garden. (Planning Applications
P03/1515 and P0/1524). Reasons: 1, “Detrimental to the
character, setting and special historic interest of the listed walled
garden in conflict with policies BE10 and BE11 of the Adopted Local
Plan. 2, The application fails to demonstrate why additional
development is required at Kingsley Village to secure
compliance with Condition 11 of planning permission P00/0757 and
consequently the restoration and repair of the walled
garden."
2007 (May to
October) The Nantwich Walled Garden Society asked the owners of the
garden on three occasions to donate the walled garden to Nantwich.
There was no reply to any of the requests.
2007 (November 24) The
Society wrote to every Borough and Town Councillor drawing attention to
the state of the walls and the fact that nothing was being done about the
repair of the North wall. They were also reminded that they were
responsible for ensuring that the Planning Inspector’s recommendations
were implemented. The Society also asked that an Urgent Works notice
be issued as soon as possible.
2008 A new set of plans for building
within the walled garden were shown at a meeting on April 22. These
propose six terraced houses and two apartments - all two storeys high -
which will take up a major part of the garden and will be surrounded by a
Tudor communal garden.
2008 (August and September) Crewe and
Nantwich M.P. Edward Timpson, local councillors and the public express
support for our efforts.
2009 (April) An
Extraordinary General Meeting was called to discuss the position. A
legal challenge to the planning permission had to be dropped when we
were unable to raise sufficient funds.
2009 We lost two of our
stalwarts. Peter Greene, our first Treasurer, died just after the EGM,
and our founding Secretary, Pat Fulford, died in November.
Pat once said that she woke one morning and
decided she was going "to save that garden". Sadly, her goal wasn't
reached when she died. A tribute to Pat.
2009 (December) At the
Annual General Meeting, members voted to continue the fight
to save the garden. The year ended with
no sign of building work on the garden site.
AGM
report.
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