Gardens and Walls
The garden consists of about half an acre of land surrounded by a 16th Century wall, which is listed Grade II by Historic England. It’s located within the Welsh Row Conservation area. The garden was part of the site of Townsend House, which was situated to its west. The house, along with the wall, was built in the 1580s by the Wilbraham family. When built, unlike today, the site of the house and garden probably wasn’t surrounded by other buildings. Once the family moved out, the house gradually fell into disrepair, and the site had many uses. For the last fifteen years or so, the Walled Garden has been owned by a series of property developers, but so far no building has started. The NWGS believes there’s still an opportunity to save the garden and walls.
Find out more via links from the Additional Information page.
Chronology of the Walled Garden
History Within the Garden Walls
The Nantwich Walled Garden has history embedded in its walls, an example being the three bee boles which are located within the south wall. Bee boles (a Scots word for a recess in a wall), were used to house and protect bee skeps (a predecessor to bee hives, made of straw and requiring protection from the weather). As well as attracting the bees into the garden to pollinate the plants and providing honey for consumption by the occupants of Townsend House, the beeswax produced could also have been used for candles, and the honey for making mead and for use as an antiseptic.
To see a more detailed article about bee boles, go to the Additional Information page.