The weather wasn’t great – I thought January was wet, but February turned out to be even wetter and more windy. Luckily we didn’t have any major damage from the storms. Although the southern boundary hedge has suffered, because branches of the hedge are resting on the old railings and the railings are breaking as they slowly rust away. This means the branches also collapse …
One of the highlights of the year was the garden open day in June. Tickets were all sold out and it was inspiring to hear from the visitors how much they enjoyed and appreciated the gardens. It was a day to be proud about the garden and the community around it, which was made possible with the help of all the enthusiastic volunteers helping out …
Minutes of AGM 18th January 2020 KEMP TOWN ENCLOSURES LIMITED Minutes of an Annual General Meeting held on 18th January 2020 at Brighton Waldorf School, Roedean Road, Brighton Attendance: 36 people attended including 5 board members, Mark Harper (Chair), Ian Clegg (Treasurer), Matthew Evans, Lucy Graubart and Andrew Doig (Secretary/minutes) 1. Apologies for absence: apologies were received from Shirley Collins, Francoise Cosgrove, …
December was a short month due to the holidays. It was also very wet and windy and therefore challenging to get things done. We didn’t manage to have a bonfire, but we did get some more hedges cut. The Southern Boundary hedge was cut and this included reducing some sections which were getting too close to the railings; in this way we are slowly creating …
The AGM will be held on Saturday, January 18 2020 at 10.30 am at Brighton Waldorf School on the corner of Whitehawk Road and Roedean Road. Janine will update the meeting on the progress of plans for the Bicentennial celebrations. The Board is also proposing two important changes to the garden rules, as outlined below: Access to the gardens by holiday visitors At recent AGM’s …
Plans are being produced to rejuvenate the Black Rock site on Brighton seafront which has lain dormant for 40 years. Brighton & Hove City Council, working with funders Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership, is proposing a package of infrastructure, heritage and public realm improvements. The plans include a new link to Brighton Marina, bolstered sea defences, upgrading the Duke’s Mound junctions and enhancing the …
When Patrick returned from holiday at the beginning of the month he started to cut back the hedges. It was too hot to continue during the very hot spell, but now the weather has cooled he is carrying on. He has done the whole of the East and North sides of the South Garden, the next priority will be the hedges around the North garden. …
Andrew Doig’s edited notes for the tour guides on the NGS Open Day: About the Kemp Town Estate and the Enclosures: The gardens were enclosed in 1823 as the centrepiece of Thomas Read Kemp’s speculative development, The Kemp Town Estate. Kemp was the MP for Lewes and local landowner whose land included this cliff top location a mile or so from the fishing village of …
Largely thanks to all the preparatory work put in by Janine Nahapiet and her team, the first NGS Open Day was a roaring success. The sun shone, the gardens looked wonderful, and everything ran like clockwork. All the tickets – 240 of them – were sold in advance. The day attracted a total of 257 visitors and almost £2,000 was raised for charity. The feedback …
The effect of the current sustained drought on the gardens is unhappily all too obvious – yellow lawns and withered shrubs and flora struggling to survive. Some residents have expressed concern at the use of sprinklers at a time when parts of the country are already facing hosepipe bans. The water supply situation here is very different. At the present time Southern Water has not …
