So began the press release in 1992, announcing the gift of a part of Winchester Cathedral’s Deanery garden within the Cathedral Close for the creation of a small public park, to be named after Dean Garnier, the 19th-century ‘gardening’ Dean.
The project was led by Hampshire County Council and Hampshire Gardens Trust, with funds from the Council and the Trust as well as from various Trusts and organisations within the Winchester district.
The opening (Image: Friends of the Dean Garnier Garden)
This part of the Deanery Garden lies on what was once the Monk’s ‘Dorter’ or dormitory and permission to create a garden had to be sought from English Heritage.
Sally Hocking, the historic landscape architect within the then planning department of the county council, designed a garden of three areas reflecting the construct of the Cathedral – the ’ Dorter Garden’ leading to the ‘Presbytery Lawn’ and the slightly hidden ‘Lady Chapel.’
Once the overall design of the garden with its three distinct areas was agreed, Jennifer Harmer and Sue Ward worked together to design the planting for each part.
Substantial donations and gifts of specific benches, sculptures and artworks by various individuals and organisations within the Winchester district were received, and a Friends Group was created with the objective ‘…to foster, maintain and manage the Garden as a place of beauty befitting Winchester Cathedral and the objective of the Hampshire Gardens Trust.’
(Image: Friends of the Dean Garnier Garden)
On October 14, 1995, the chair of the Dean Garnier Garden, Stefan Lipa, in the presence of the then Mayor of Winchester, Patricia Norris, and Gilly Drummond, Chair of Hampshire Gardens Trust, knocked on the door of the garden, which was opened by Trevor Beeston, the then Dean of Winchester Cathedral.
Thirty years later, described in TripAdvisor as ‘of sylvan tranquillity’ and ‘an excellent hidden gem,’ the garden is now well established with mature growth.
It remains a hidden haven of peace with a welcome to everyone who walks through the Close.
The Friends Group is open for anyone to join, whether as a volunteer gardener or a supporter who cares about the future of the Garden. The Charity is run by its
Trustees, and the current chairman is Paul Russell. The garden’s future depends heavily on the two groups of volunteer gardeners who meet twice monthly on either Wednesday or Saturday.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary, a new tree-planting ceremony will take place in the Garden on Saturday, October 18, at 2pm. The AGM will follow at 2.30pm in the Undercroft of the Cathedral after which, Eleanor Waterhouse and Kate Bennett will recount their experience of ‘Gardening for Television’ with, finally, the usual delicious tea and cake.
Anyone interested in becoming a member of the garden is welcome to join us for any part of the proceedings.
Article by Paul Russell, Chair, Friends of the Dean Garnier Garden
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