Royalty Wood
Gardeners’ Club sees latest progress
Members of Weaverham Gardeners’ Club listened to a rather different talk at their March meeting, one not just about gardening, but an insight to local history as well! John Hardman, owner of Royalty Wood in Hartford, came to talk to the group about his restoration of the woodland to its original condition, that of a Victorian pleasure garden. In April John gave them a guided tour of the woodland and showed them, first hand, the extent of what has been achieved there in recent years.
There is some dispute as to how Royalty Wood got its name. One possibility is that the royalist supporters escaping from the Battle of Winnington Bridge, in the Civil War, retreated to the woodland on that spot. In 1802, the Marshall family built Hartford Beach and Hartford Cottage (now known as Beech Cottage) long before the railway line or Beach Road existed. Thomas Horatio Marshall laid out the pleasure grounds in 1846 but after World War I life was very different and, with staff hard to find and finances running out, the estate was sold in an auction, held at the Greenbank Hotel in 1918. Beech Cottage was sold as a lot including woodland, a lake, kitchen gardens, and greenhouses. For many years the Woodland was neglected. The lake silted up, and the woods became overgrown with sycamores and Rhododendron ponticum. As a consequence, lack of light meant that much of the planting disappeared.
In 2011 John Hardman bought Royalty Wood and began the task of restoring it to its former glory. The old sluice gate was discovered and repaired so that the lake could be dredged and refilled, while overhanging trees have been cut back.
Stone steps, which had disappeared under layers of leafmould were uncovered, and paths cleared. John has felled sycamores, letting in the light, so bluebells, wild daffodils and snowdrops are now thriving. He has also discovered an avenue of lime trees, as well as the original viewing mound. Huge erratic boulders have been uncovered which now provide the base for a large rockery.
There are three main areas - the woodland, the lake and the damp area which is fed by springs. Streams are now flowing again to feed the lake via a small aqueduct. As well as clearing the site, to reveal its original structure, John is also busy planting, replacing the Rhododendron ponticum, planting camellias, magnolias, ornamental trees and woodland plants such as primulas, ferns and hellebores to supplement the native species.
Restoring Royalty Wood is a huge task which John is undertaking with just a few volunteers to help him. Fortunately he has enormous enthusiasm and passion for the task, as Gardeners Club members saw in his talk and subsequent tour of the woodland.
Substantial work is being undertaken during 2017, so public tours of the woodland are unlikely this year, but it is hoped they will resume in the future.
Heather Rawling