Yellow Book Charity Open Garden weekend best yet - report here

Four very different gardens in Forest Hill, SE23 were open to the public for the National Garden Scheme (NGS) on 24th and 25th May. 270 visitors raised £2000 for charity. The NGS raises over £2 million each year, mostly for cancer and home nursing charities.

Plans to redevelop Horniman Gardens

In our April newsletter we promised to update our members on plans to redevelop Horniman Gardens.  At that time a meeting had yet to take place with Horniman management in order to find out more about the Masterplan proposal that had been posted on the notice boards in the Gardens.

Representatives of the Association met with Kirsten Walker, Head of Collections, Management & Special Projects, on 20th April, and spent several hours going through each of the proposed changes and the accompanying detailed drawings.

for details of the plan (numbers in brackets) please refer to the drawing horniman plan

The Nature Trail and boundary changes

Whether the relocation of the Night path will be possible is dependant on negotiations with Lewisham Council as it involves rights of way, planning and lighting issues.

The section of the Nature Trail/Green Chain Link from Langton Rise to its junction with the Night path will be open on a limited basis only (hours yet to be determined).  It is thought that a small building might be erected near the Langton Rise entrance that would probably be used for educational purposes.

Pond dipping and play areas

The old boating pond, now drained and used as a kick about area, will be reconstructed as a pond.  It is within an area that will be managed to increase nature conservation value, there will be reed beds and provision for pond dipping (3).  As we now live in days of health and safety the pond will be fenced off but garden users will be able to view it from pathways and a Boardwalk.

Provision has been made for a new kick about area (5); it will be further west than indicated on the Masterplan and the detailed drawing shows it as a flat, oval, hard surface sculpted into the slope of the hill to form a space not unlike an amphitheatre.  It is not clear from the drawing what the dimensions are to be but is hoped that the playing surface will be approximately the same size as the old boating pond.

A ‘Wild play’ area (7) will be situated on top of the embankment at the London Road end of the Nature Trail.  Intended for younger children, it is envisaged that it will have logs and other rough play equipment for them to scramble over or through.

Near the ‘Wild play’ area the plan shows positions for a new toilet block (25) and two new electrical outlets (24) for events.  The wisdom of placing toilets in a comparatively isolated part of the Gardens, with easy access from London Road, where young children are likely to be found was questioned.  It was acknowledged that this might not be a good idea and perhaps it should be given some more thought.  It was emphasised that there are no plans to increase the number of events that take place in the Gardens and that the electrical outlets would be more to assist garden staff with their equipment than to service events.

The Avenue and Bandstand area

For some time the Association has been urging the Museum to consider leaving the Avenue open during the Gardens opening hours; at present it is gated off in summer when the Museum closes.  The plan is now to allow the Avenue to remain open.  In order to facilitate this welcome move a fence and gates will be installed on the eastern side of the Avenue in order to isolate the Museum when it closes.  The gates on the western side and at the top of the Avenue will stay in place so that the Gardens can be closed when the Museum is open after dark during the winter.  The entrance near the Main Gate (22), which is now used after the Museum is shut, will be closed and the path leading to it removed. 

The toilet block (11) situated at the top of the Avenue will be upgraded and new contractor and disabled parking (12) will be created within the area of restricted public access leading to the Staff Yard.  It is also proposed to increase the cycle parking (23) near the Main Gate.  We have asked the museum to consider using environmentally friendly hard surfaces instead of tarmac, , e.g. a surface that allows grass to grow through it, as these areas will encroach on existing lawns.

The area at the top of the Avenue that leads to the Bandstand terrace, and the Bandstand terrace itself; will be reshaped.  Parts of the terrace will be levelled and resurfacing will be with bound gravel.  To provide shade twelve trees will be planted, six to each side of the Bandstand; they are shown as a square within a circle on the plan.  It was indicated that some of the picnic tables would remain but that others might be relocated to another area of the Gardens, possibly under the trees on what was the old putting course to the west of the Sunken Garden.

The Dutch Barn (17) will be refurbished and put back to its original state.  This will entail the removal of the room at the northern end of the Barn to restore the symmetry of the building and provide more shade.  The Bandstand (18a) will also be refurbished and the side panels will be replaced with see-through ones to reveal the views beyond.

The present location of the Green waste site (8) is at the southern end of the Bandstand terrace; it will be relocated, probably within the Animal Enclosure (9).  Its previous site will then be opened up to reveal the views.

The Animal Enclosure (16) is to be redesigned and will have a new fence.  A public path is to run through the middle of the enclosure, which we understand will have a lower fence than the external one to enable visitors to have a better view of the animals.  The Museum has sought the advice of Capel Manor Gardens regarding the design of the enclosure, the animals that might be included and their care.  The College at Capel Manor has been involved in setting up a national competition for students of animal husbandry to design an appropriate enclosure; the result will be known on 2nd May

The Sunken Garden and present Africa Garden

The Sunken Garden, together with the semi circular colonnade to the north, and the Africa Garden to the south (10), will be fenced off from the Gardens and all access points will have gates.  This will be used as a ‘living collection’ exhibition area and will only be open during museum opening hours.  The Sunken Garden will be refurbished and the paving, which at present is very uneven, will be re-laid.  The detailed drawing shows the central bed as being replaced with a water feature and part of the colonnade and the southern perimeter are depicted as having covered areas.  The covered parts are intended to shelter children being taught in this area.  Surprise was expressed regarding the fact that this space will not be open to garden users during all garden opening hours; we were informed that it was largely to prevent children using the Sunken Garden as a racetrack. The rose, herbaceous and shrub beds to the south, east and west of the Africa Garden will be removed and replaced with grass.

Other changes

Many paths, not mentioned above, will either be relocated or removed and the layout of the road that leads from the Horniman Drive entrance to the top of the Avenue will be adjusted.   A new Greenhouse (15) will replace the three now occupying the site near the Horniman Drive entrance; this will allow the gardeners to propagate more of their own plants.  There will be new planting to disguise a rather ugly wooden wall at the eastern end of the Conservation building (14).  At the front of the Museum the Fountain (13a) will be restored and the bin store fence (13b) upgraded.

Many of the proposals are welcome but with the construction of more buildings and restricted access to more of the Gardens being planned, it is perhaps worth reflecting on how the Museum has encroached on the Gardens over the years.

As the Museum has gained the CUE building, the Conservatory and the new wing of the Museum; garden users and visitors have lost the enjoyment of the Tennis Courts, the Water Garden and the part of the garden leading to the Staff Yard.  Construction of Nursery Cottage and the Conservation building have also had a big impact on the ambiance of the Gardens.

In order to establish a ‘living collection’ exhibition area, the Museum now plans to enclose the Sunken Garden, colonnade and Africa Garden and restrict access; in the process the remnants of the former Rose Garden will disappear.  It is difficult to envisage where, the beautifully planted, pleasant places, where people can loose themselves in peaceful contemplation, will be.

We would welcome residents’ comments.    (please use the "contact us" email link at the foot of the page)

Jean Lawrence