Duchy Barn Garden, Higham Ferrers

The community garden adjacent to Chichele College on the Higham Ferrers estate in Northamptonshire continues to reveal glimpses of its historic past as volunteers work to maintain and further improve the site. Since the official opening of the Duchy Barn Garden, local volunteers have carried on their painstaking work of removing ivy, replacing stonework and carrying out regular pruning and planting.

The removal of the ivy recently uncovered two ancient bee boles in the garden walls. These recesses were used to house skeps made from straw to shelter bees from the elements. Boles were generally placed on south-facing walls, but one of these was found on the eastern wall and the other on the north wall. Instead of a skep, a blackbird had built its nest in the recess the previous spring. Both boles have been preserved and are monitored regularly.

After four years’ hard work on the part of local volunteers, the Duchy Barn Garden is now a highly sought-after venue for civic, community and social events. There are regular Art and Heritage exhibitions in the adjacent Chichele College and the Higham Ferrers Archaeology and Research Society (HiFARS) continues its careful excavation of the site. As a result of the Society’s painstaking work, a perfectly preserved cobbled area revealed at the start of the project has been incorporated into the garden design as part of the hard landscaping.

Senior Estate Surveyor Archie Rose, who looks after Higham Ferrers as part of the Southern Survey is delighted with the progress to date: “The Duchy is extremely keen to support community projects such as this, where a building or structure which has fallen into disuse is given a new use. We have worked closely with the volunteers throughout the project, repairing coping stones, reinstating historic archways and providing access to grant funding through the Duchy of Lancaster Benevolent Fund in order to help them deliver their vision of a community asset that benefits everyone. 

“We also presented them with a pear tree as part of our support for the Green Canopy initiative launched to mark the Platinum Jubilee of the Late Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.”