THE WALLED GARDEN AND ITS FRIENDS

Situated in the north-east corner of Ravenscourt Park near the Paddenswick Road entrance, this was originally the kitchen garden of the manor house. When the estate became a public park in 1888 the London County Council’s Head of Parks, Lt Col J. J Sexby, laid out the grounds and designed the walled garden in a traditional Victorian “Old English” style with rose beds, rose arches and exotic herbaceous beds. The wrought iron gates are early 18th century, a survival from the former estate.

The Friends of the Walled Garden are a volunteer group that works in the garden on the first Saturday morning of each month. A Tesco ‘Bags of Help’ grant is being used to restore two of the herbaceous flowerbeds, while an earlier grant from the Western Riverside Environment Fund transformed the disused goldfish pond into a central feature with an armillary sundial, to coincide with the 125th anniversary of the park being opened to the public.

Anyone interested in volunteering and meeting other local people as well as contributing to your community – you don’t have to commit yourself to coming every month, or know anything about gardening! – can find more details on the group’s website www.ravenscourtgarden.btck.co.uk. Alternatively call the Friends’ organiser, Angela Clarke, on 020 8748 0284.