Grappenhall Heys walled garden

Sunday

In England for a long weekend, providing some support for Roger's parents while Janet and John are on holiday. We came over through the tunnel Friday evening.
This afternoon we went for a little outing to Grappenhall walled garden, all that remains of a sizeable country estate,
founded by Thomas Parr around 1830. Thomas was born in 1792 into an old-established Lancashire family with banking interests in Warrington. Thomas's third son, J. Charlton Parr, inherited the Estate in 1870 and lived in it until 1918. Joseph was a very wealthy man and, although he did not make great alterations to the Estate, he appears to have maintained it to a very high standard. The late 19th century seems to have been the Estate's heyday, with photographs and accounts from the time showing a comfortable and well-staffed home for Joseph, his wife and their four children. The house was not lived in by the family after 1941 and the estate sold in 1951. The house was ultimately demolished as it was in a poor state, and some of the land sold for development, but the walled garden with its kitchen garden, greenhouses and some ponds remain. The greenhouses were recently restored with money from the Lottery, and contained vines, figs, tomatoes and courgettes among other things. It made a nice outing since it's not far for Bernard and Edna to walk, and there's several benches around, where Edna could sit, while the rest of us walked around a bit more.