Spring has sprung!

 Its only a few weeks since we were all shivering in the cold but the waiting is over and spring has finally arrived at Beningbrough! The blue skies arrived just in time for our Sirens to Celebrations bank holiday weekend activities and the grounds are full of the sights and smells of spring time.

This blossom has just arrived, changing the landscape and continuing to bloom through May.

In the walled garden the tulips are appearing, along with less pretty but more tasty vegetables which you will be able to enjoy in  the walled garden restaurant later in the year.

 

The pear arch is starting to come to life, and will soon be framing the walled garden with an abundance of fruit.

  

 At Pike Pond the bluebells are springing up all around us - laying a colourful carpet for a walk through the park.

  The daffodils arrived later than usual this year due to the cold weather, so they are still surrounding the house now.

The calves I met in the parkland seemed to be enjoying the sunshine...

 ...and the fish no longer need to brave freezing waters in the East Formal garden!

 The excitement of our bank holiday weekend may be over but there is still plenty to enjoy in the sunshine at Beningbrough. Our World War II themed trail is still here to explore through both the house and the gardens as more and more plant life starts to emerge. And there is croquet on the lawn waiting for some very special visitors in June...

(see our events page for details!)





Easter Eggstravaganza - Fun for all!!

After weeks of doing the sun dance, in the hope the weather would hear our call, it finally did and the sun graced us with its presence over the Easter Weekend. With the surprise appearance of the sun, came lots of happy children and adults, who couldn’t wait to get stuck in to our programme of activities.

The site was brought to life with families hunting for eggs as part of our Cadburys Easter Egg Trail around the grounds and hall. Laughter and excitement could be heard from the Learning Centre, where eggy characters were created in Artrageous and we had egg and spoon races in the Walled Garden, face painting, new play kit for all to enjoy and an appearance from a special guest…our very own Easter Bunny!

The Cadburys Easter Egg trail around the gardens, saw many children (and adults!!) seeking out Wooden Eggs which were hidden across the site. Each egg had a letter which then formed an anagram. Alongside having to solve the anagram, there were also a series of hidden chicks around the hall and a match the answer to the question quiz.

Both adults and children also took part in the ‘Create an Eggy Character’ Artrageous. With a variety of materials, paper and the key ingredient glue, the creativity began to flow and we saw lots of great creations. From Indians to robots to fluffy chicks, the Beningbrough Egg Gallery was filled full of colour. At 3pm, the Easter Bunny came along and picked her favourite creation and presented the winner with a cuddly toy, mug and chocolate. I think it is safe to say, all who took part enjoyed the workshop!

After taking her time over picking a winner, the Easter Bunny ventured outside to meet the many visitors who came along for a fun day out. She shook hands, had cuddles, posed for pictures and demonstrated her cool by high fiving many children. She was made particularly happy when two little boys presented her with two carrots! Although extremely grateful for the gifts, she then preceded to try to trade them for children’s chocolate eggs! After an exhausting weekend of judging eggy characters, meeting new people, making friends and of course, delivering lots of chocolate eggs to the masses, the Easter Bunny said her goodbyes for another year.

Although our Easter Weekend has come to an end, the fun that can be had around the hall and gardens doesn’t stop there! Our Easter Egg trail will continue (indoors and out!), free of charge and just for fun, until April 14^th. We also have a ‘Create your own Egg Olympian’ self led art workshop, whereby you can cut, colour and stick to make your own Egg Champion, which you can then take around the grounds to complete a variety of challenges displayed at various points around the site.

The horses are finally unveiled and the conservation project is complete!

On Thursday 21st March we finally removed the scaffolding from our north as the intensive nine month conservation project comes to a close.

After rennovating the bridge and door casing at the South end of the house last year, the Wolfson Foundation have now generously funded the restoration of the North door too. Working with Cliveden Conservation Trust to fight the effects of 300 years of Yorkshire weather, they have been restoring the ornate decorations, and particuarly the limestone horse carvings which dominate the door.

Following on from our previous update on this blog the covered scaffold remained in place for several weeks to allow the mortar to set before the grand reveal. Despite the recent very cold weather, the lime mortar has now set and the magnificent newly restored entrance has been revealed to the public just in time for Easter.

Our House Manager Caroline Hill is very pleased with the results:
"As part of our Year of Conservation, it is really fantastic to have the hall’s main entrance restored to its original state. The stunning view along the drive on the approach is now even better. Whatever the Yorkshire weather throws at it, we hope it will last for at least the next 300 years!”

Natasha - PR and Marketing Intern

The Garden View

The New Year has so far brought us plenty of wintery weather. The flooding of the Ings continues to be a regular occurrence and we have had the snow plough out on a number of occasions. The occasional sunny day is a tantalising reminder that spring is not too far away.

I have been asked more than once what gardeners do in the winter; the implication being it must be hard to keep busy. In fact many of our bigger projects are tackled over the winter months. The South Border has just been widened by 1.5 meters. This gives us a significant amount more border to play with. The main theme to the planting is to be the daisy family (Asteraceae), most of which are late summer flowering. This family includes echinacea, dahlia, helenium, rudbeckia, and echinops. Historically this border was planted to peak in September to tie in with the St Ledger Stakes, when Lady Chesterfield traditionally held a garden party (being a big horse racing fan). More plans are in the pipeline for the South Border so keep watching this space...

The Double Border has also had some attention in terms of reinstating the brick edging to the path. These bricks were hardly visible in places and once re-positioned give a great definition to the border. The old metal hoops have been painted and are also ready to go back on the posts, to allow the wisteria to cascade over, in time their drooping mauve flowers should be a real feature.

Of course there are still plants to enjoy. The witch hazel (Hamamelis mollis) in the Winter Corner has been flowering for a couple of weeks now, its delicate yellow petals somehow defying the frosts and snow. Winter aconites (Eranthis hyemalis) are one of the first flowers to appear in the New Year, below the horse chestnut at the end of the South Border; a carpet of snowdrops quickly follows.

The Trust’s spring flower count on the 12^th Feb this year totted up 29 different varieties of plant in flower at Beningbrough! It is amazing what’s out there once you look.

Lastly the Wilderness (where the playground is located) is also getting a bit of a face lift. We are thinning out some of the laurels and putting down paths to improve access. Plants at home in a woodland setting are soon to follow.

If you see any of us in the garden feel free to come and say hello or ask us questions! All the best from the garden team.

Written by Tom Longridge

A face-lift for the horse carvings on the North door

As promised, the carved horses which feature on the north facing door of the hall are being carefully restored with great success! Like the house, the door and its ornate carvings are almost 300 years old. Whilst they are in surprisingly good condition for their great age, inevitable exposure to the elements means that maintenance and conservation work is necessary from time to time. In order to extend the life of such distinctive features, Cliveden Conservation Workshop have been carrying out specialised work on this doorway to tackle this deterioration. This maintenance work is generously funded by the Wolfson Foundation. The photos below show the door and one of the horse carvings as they were before conservation work began.

The conservationists ensured that the carvings remained authentic by referring to photographs and other historical records from the National Trust archives throughout the process, and copying the original artists work as accurately as possible.

Firstly they modelled the missing faces in clay...

...Next these clay masquettes were taken to the workshop where they were painstakingly reproduced in the same Tadcaster magnesium limestone from which the original faces were carved...

  

 ...Once they had been carved they were brought back to Beningbrough for the final trimming and fittings.

 Due to the weather conditions at this time of year the area will remain covered by scaffold for a while so that the lime mortars can set, but it won't be long before the horses are back on show and looking their best again. We are sure that it will be well worth the wait!

Natasha

PR and Marketing Intern

 

Beningbrough digs for victory!

This week Beningbrough visitors and volunteers demonstrated their plucky wartime spirit by braving the sometimes wet, sometimes windy, and eventually sunny weather to turn the soil and lift the turf on our Dig for Victory World War II allotment.

Thanks to a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, we will be running events and activities throughout the year which bring to life the stories and memories of those who lived through World War II at Beningbrough. Amongst those billeted here in 1943 was the 21 year old officer Clifford Hill. He recalled an encounter with Lady Chesterfield (who was then the owner of Beningbrough Hall) in the vegetable patch to which this small allotment will pay tribute.  

Lady Chesterfield was a strong-minded woman and by all accounts kept a careful eye on how the estate was being treated by the RAF crews during their time at Beningbrough. She had moved out of the house into a nearby farm bungalow, in order to accommodate the men and women billeted here. However she retained her pride in her beloved Hall and gardens and would not let any war see them slip into disrepair! She confronted Sergeant Hill and his friend in the walled garden and accused him of trampling on her vegetable patch. In his own words, ‘She was most irate, and I was equally adamant that we had not done so, explaining that having gardens of our own at home we would hardly be likely to do such a thing.’ He protested his innocence but apologised on behalf of another officer, whom he suspected to be the true culprit. She accepted this apology and sent him on his way saying "Good Luck, boy! And don't tread on my vegetables!" This story will be remembered on a panel by our newly created garden patch.



The wiggle family digging for victory!



 On our Dig for Victory day however we had great fun digging and did not encounter any clumsy officers. The Wiggle family really got stuck in, all four of them helping to turn the soil in preparation for planting later in the year. Whilst digging, we also found ants, worms and grubs, who we tried our best not to disturb! As well as having fun with the allotment we planted beans and peas in paper pots to take away and make a windowsill garden.

In the weeks to come we are hoping to dig out the patch to, making it even bigger, as well as adding hazel hoops to edge the patch. Later in the year we will plant and maintain the garden, and finally harvest it in. All of these activities will involve local schools and visiting families - so watch the blog and the main website for news of what activities are coming up!

The main displays and exhibitions about 'Beningbrough at War: From Country Lanes to Violent Skies' will open on the 1st March 2013. There will be plenty to see and do so come and explore if you want to learn more about Beningbrough at War.

Natasha

PR and Marketing Intern

Adventures in the snow

My second day of volunteering as a PR and Marketing assistant in 2013 was a bright and snowy winter morning so, armed with my scarf, gloves, camera-phone and beloved wellies I set off to explore the grounds!

At the front of the house I was greeted by this amazing willow sculpture by Emma Stothard (http://www.emmastothard.com). Many other creatures and critters are waiting to be discovered around the property, but this horse is looking across the snow in search of visitors to welcome.

 Also at the front of the house (and far more talkative than the horse) was Tristram Hill, one of many dedicated volunteer gardeners who work here whatever the weather. Taking a break from smartening up the front lawn, he told me it was the wide open space and beautiful surroundings which he enjoyed most about his work at Beningbrough. On a day like this with white snow and blue sky stretching away into the distance I could easily see why.

Following Tristram’s advice I went to take a look at the south-facing view from the gardens, which is his favourite spot here. From this side of the house there is an impressive panoramic view of what he describes as ‘classic Eighteenth century parkland’. Today the trees and fields were looking especially striking.

The landscape was equally dramatic when I last looked out in this direction in late November, as it was (like many other places in the area) entirely underwater! Tristram explained that the flooding I saw actually serves an important purpose, with the land always intended as a water meadow. This means that as the water levels rise and the river overflows, the meadows absorb the floodwater, and in doing so reduce the impact on York and the surrounding villages. Although, as anyone living in the area will know, the meadows have unfortunately been no match for the recent floods!

Finally, on the way back to the office I came across some interesting animal tracks in the snow – can anybody tell me what they might be? (With my incredible ranger skills I have already identified those in the bottom right-hand corner as size 5 wellies).

 I’ve had a great time volunteering with Beningbrough so far and there will be plenty more blogs from me to come. In the meantime I thoroughly recommend wandering around the gardens, capturing some stunning photos and chatting to the friendly staff and volunteers who make this place so special.

Natasha - PR and Marketing Intern