How Does Your Garden Grow?
Media release from the Tamar Protection Society in Cornwall, England on their nearly £50,000 lottery grant to expand an Elizabethan garden in Saltash, Cornwall.
TAMAR PROTECTION SOCIETY
Registered Charity 1080453
Company Registration Number 3789935
Registered Address. Deacon Jewell Ltd, 7 West Street, LISKEARD, PL14 6BW16 February 2006
For immediate release
HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?
An Elizabethan garden in Saltash, Cornwall, UK is set to branch out thanks to a £48,700 lottery grant.
Mary Newman’s Cottage has received £48,700 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to create an Elizabethan garden complete with traditional varieties of herbs, fruit, vegetables and flowers. A further grant of £11,500 from Cornwall Environment Trust will be used to renovate the cottage windows, carry out work to interior wood panelling, upgrade an outdoor Victorian toilet, and modernise the existing kitchen so that it can provide refreshments for visitors.
Believed in local history to be the former home of Mary Newman, wife of Sir Francis Drake, today the cottage is a small museum leased by the Tamar Protection Society from Caradon District Council. The cottage is the oldest surviving Tudor building in Saltash and has been cared for by the Tamar Protection Society since the 1970s. The museum is staffed by volunteers and is open on Wednesday afternoons and Saturdays from Easter to the end of October, and also for school visits and special events.
Sarah Prattent, chairman of the Tamar Protection Society, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have secured the funding to transform the garden and improve the cottage. Having the cottage in an authentic historical setting will mean that visitors will get a true picture of what ordinary life was like in Tudor times. The grants will also help pay for improved interpretation and educational areas, which will make a big difference to visiting schools.”
The Society is still deciding what to include in the garden, but the chosen plants will reflect those commonly used in cooking and medicines of the time. For instance, beet juice was a remedy for dandruff, although it was also believed to set the blood on fire. Roses were good for inflamed brains, and dill was used to bring relief to a cold and windy stomach.
Sarah said: “The Elizabethan garden is very much a partnership project. The Tamar Valley Service assisted us by researching medieval plants and putting together our initial budget. Caradon Integrated Action Plan helped us with our bid for match funding, and students from Plymouth College of Art and Design will be creating display material recording the project’s progress. We hope to have the garden complete in 2007.”
To receive regular emails with progress updates and to find out more about the Tamar Protection Society contact tamarps@rya-online.net
Media enquiries contact:
Kevin Procter, Tamar Protection Society, 07767 444816The Tamar Protection Society was formed in 1968 as an environmental action group to protect the River Tamar. The Society first proposed the Tamar Valley should become an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1969 and fought a successful nationwide campaign to stop the building of a power station at Insworke Point. The Society has now grown to an incorporated registered charity, which has successfully restored and operated Mary Newman’s Cottage, a Grade 2 listed building believed to date from around 1480, and Elliott’s Store, a time warp of a post-war Open All Hours corner shop.
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) enables communities to celebrate, look after and learn more about our diverse heritage. From museums and historic buildings to parks and nature reserves to celebrating traditions, customs and history, the HLF has awarded over £3 billion to projects that open up our nation’s heritage for everyone to enjoy.
