Walled Garden at Summerfields
After the Bohemia Estate was acquired by Hastings Borough Council (HBC) the use of the garden for horticulture was spasmodic with little attention paid to maintaining the structure. When necessary urgent repairs were required the Estates division of HBC did ensure some repairs were made but over the years many cap stones disappeared allowing the pointing to deteriorate and a hole developed on the southern wall leaving unsupported bricks and remained a hazard to users of the woods. A section of the eastern wall was likely damaged by a falling tree in 1987 and was not repaired.
During the 1990s HBC permitted the walled garden to be used by the Probation Service where people who had been sentenced by the courts to perform work for the community, carried out tasks, referred to as Community Punishment. During that time there was little maintenance to the structure but invasive ivy was kept in check and the bramble and weeds controlled whilst vegetables were grown that were supplied to the Salvation Army to provide meals for the needy. By around year 2000 it ceased to be used by the Probation Service and the garden was abandoned. The hole in the wall and missing cap stones adding to the vulnerability of the structure.
For around ten years the site was ignored and ivy grew to cover the walls and bramble and weeds flourished and small trees grew inside the garden. A concrete shed that was thought to be used by young people was considered to be a "drugs den" and workers were instructed to rip off the roof.
In 2007 a group known as Project Artworks came to the Council with an ambitious plan that sought funding to turn the walled garden into an arts centre and the proposals developed were to be considered by Hastings Council.
The plan to include living accomadation inside the garden and a car park in the woods requiring road access would have created problems if ever it had become a planning request but the proposal died leaving the way open for more environmentally acceptable options.
HBC contractor installs the final row of bricks to repair the hole in the wall.
After a 10 year delay an undertaking by the leader of Hastings Borough Council was progressed and the hole in the southern wall of the garden was repaired in 2010. The photo shows contractors starting to put the final row of stretchers into the wall. The outside has now also been faced in sandstone.
Further maintenance work inside the walled garden got underway when HBC arranged for the missing and damaged cap stones to be replaced using newly created stones to be placed on top of the wall to prevent water damage of the walls.
Further maintenance work inside the walled garden got underway when HBC arranged for the missing and damaged cap stones to be replaced using newly created stones to be placed on top of the wall to prevent water damage of the walls.
In 2009 a letter expressing concern at the state of the walled garden in Summerfields wood was published in the Bohemia Village Voice and as a result a group was formed. A public meeting was held in 2009 and the Bohemia Walled Garden Association was formed with an aim to keep the garden in good order and to source funding for the repairs of the fallen wall. Proposals for the repair of the eastern wall are now complete and the missing section of wall with other improvements should be in place by 2018. A Story published in Hastings On Line Times (HOT) April 2017 shows the current use and details of the restoration proposed.
See the walled garden information published in 1841 about the garden and more photos of the period of deriliction.
See the walled garden information published in 1841 about the garden and more photos of the period of deriliction.