The Great Green Project May 2010

One of the pleasures of taking on the task of tidying up the remnant of the Village Green on Eaton Road has been talking to people passing by, and hearing their stories about it. Most of the younger people say 'I never noticed it before', but older folk tell of playing round the cherry tree (the one now strangled by Ivy and cut down), of walking over the grass to Mrs White's shop opposite the Thatched Tavern, of picking blackberries, of the wrangle to make it Parish Council property, and of how this used to be the prettiest part of the village, when you had a clear view of all the thatched houses with the open green in front of them. A tale has been told of a Traveller who claimed it had been sold to his grandfather 100 years ago by the Rector of the time, a likely story! But the confusion over ownership was real, and the Parish Council paid £200 to the Crown in 1978 through a compulsory purchase order to acquire it for the community.

Not been much has been learnt from clearing the tangled undergrowth, no objects of interest apart from those little shards of blue and white crockery that get everywhere, and more wine bottles than beer bottles, a sign of modern times. Many years ago Mr. Ronald Martin cleared it up when it had become a dumping ground, so this may account for the lack of artefacts. There is some mystery as to why the land shelves away from the road, as if the topsoil has been removed. Does anyone know why this is as it is? A shallow ditch along the boundary holds no water, even after the wet winter.

Passers -by also ask questions, the most frequent being, 'What is going to happen now?' followed by 'Are you going to take down the cypress trees?' The answer to the latter is probably yes, following checks with all interested parties. They are gloomy and mask the shape of the lime tree, and though birds sing from them they are not used for nesting. Whether there should be a formal boundary between the Green and the Almshouses is a matter for debate. None of the older maps show one and in 1977 the Public Enquiry recommended that the 'pleasure ground' should include the land right up to the shop, but this was disregarded in the interest of privacy for the Almshouse residents and the trees were planted at that time.

As to what is going to happen next, a seat is planned, it will be locally made and it will be unique. The Green will become greener with more grass in place of ground elder, but at least one bramble patch will be encouraged to grow so there will still be blackberries to pick. A young hazel tree that was inadvertently cut down will be encouraged to become a bush, so please no-one remove the brambles that are protecting it from deer. Flowers and blossom are noticeably absent at present so colour and scent will be incorporated into any planting that is undertaken. The cherry trunk standing alone like a totem pole will come down, because it is dead, but before that happens, does anyone know when it was planted and by whom? Not everything dead will be removed, logs will be left for insects to live in, and in the high up brambles, a collar dove has already hatched a brood and a sparrow is renovating a nest.

It's your space, Appleton people. How would you like to see it used?

Rosemary Page

17th May 2010

"Great Green Project" background

What’s happening along Eaton Road, just beyond the Almshouses?

Why has a perfectly good bramble patch, home to countless tiny creatures, been brutally demolished?

Whose is that bit of land anyway?

The small triangle of land between the Almshouses and May Tree Cottage with trees along its boundaries is a remnant of Appleton’s Great Green that as ‘wasteland’ was enclosed in the early 19th Century by the squire, Robert Southby, raising the hackles of the common people of the village and leading indirectly to Appleton’s reputation for great bell-ringing. But that’s another story. It was not however awarded to him in the Inclosure Act of 1831 and it remained without an owner till the Parish Council bought it by Compulsory Purchase Order in 1978 as a ‘pleasure ground’. Today the piece of land is the responsibility of the Parish Council and is being spruced up by volunteers so that it becomes an asset and an adornment to the village. The plan at this time is simply to make it as green and grassy as possible while leaving enough hedge and bramble to give refuge to birds and insects, and make a feature of the native trees, hazel and hawthorn, holly and ivy.

The Brownies raised some money a little while ago for the community and as it is the Centenary year of Girl Guiding, they are considering how it might be spent on the site to mark the occasion and add to the amenities of the village. This should not stop anyone else coming up with ideas, and passers-by have already made suggestions. So far these include seats, a tree, a painted board with village map and information, and purposely made wild-life habitats.

We are very grateful to the Jeffreys at Appleton Manor for allowing us to put the brambles and dead wood on their land for burning when the right day comes. Bonfires are not popular but disposing of this highly combustible material locally in this way saved us money and does not have to be polluting.

Another thing the plot needs is a name. It cannot be "The Green" as that is now associated with the cross-roads by the War Memorial. Any bright ideas?

If anyone would like to know more, contact Rosie Page: tel. 01865 864808