Winning the prestigious Garden of the Year Award is fitting tribute to the ingenuity, effort and affection that has been invested in a facility - particularly when the competition is so fierce.
Houghton Hall and its adjoining estate are situated in north Norfolk, between King’s Lynn and Cromer. It is one of the seats of the 7th Marquess Cholmondeley, who with his able staff has created a garden worthy of the accolade.
At the kind invitation of the proprietor, Fruiterers were able to visit the estate, view its many interesting features and plant a Black Mulberry in the walled garden, a garden that has been redesigned by Lord Cholmondeley in memory of his grandmother, the late Marchioness Cholmondeley, née Sybil Sassoon.
On arrival, the Fruiterers were met at the stables by the estate manager Robert Miller and head gardener Mhairi Blanchfield, and given a very warm welcome. Journeying across the estate, the visitors had views of the magnificent herd of fallow deer before arriving at the gardens.
The Walpoles were landowners in the local villages and lords of the manor of Houghton as early as the 1300s. Their family crest, the Saracen’s Head, had supposedly been granted in 1191 and appears widely throughout the buildings on the current estate.
Robert Walpole, who became the first prime minister of Great Britain and held the position from 1727 to 1742, inherited the hall and estate in 1700. He developed the building, the foundation stone of Houghton Mansion being laid in 1722. Sir Robert died in 1745.
The 1st Marquess Cholmondeley inherited Houghton in 1797 and saved the original furniture from being sold.
On September 18, the Fruiterers were blessed with a pretty perfect day of weather and this reinforced a very relaxed atmosphere.
The group was conducted around the principal sites of the five-acre walled garden, renovation of which commenced in 1991. There is a series of ornamental gardens, including the Rose Garden with its sunken octagonal pool, which contains more than 150 varieties of the flower.
The Pool Garden is Lord Cholmondeley’s personal memorial to his grandmother. Her initials are depicted in the clipped box which surrounds plantings of lavender and rosemary. A fountain that has a permanent flame burning at the top of the water jet, a clever combination of liquid and gas, was fascinating.
Herbaceous borders stretch 130 metres from north to south - from the greenhouse containing an orchid collection to the Rustic Temple - with a yew roundel at the mid point planted with hardy fuschias.
The Fruiterers’ tree planting was undertaken by our Master, assisted by Lord Cholmondeley. As is customary, the event has been recorded on an engraved brass plaque which will be displayed at the site. A glass of bubbly was provided by the clerk to commemorate the occasion in a suitable fashion.
A very pleasant lunch followed with the Marquess and Robert Miller in attendance as very welcome and distinguished guests.
Monday is the day on which Houghton Hall is normally closed to the public. The Fruiterers were extremely fortunate, therefore, that Lord Cholmondeley had given special permission for the building to be opened for the Fruiterers and for John and Sheila Marchmant to act as guides.
The décor and original furniture were all quite outstanding. It was a great pity that Sir Robert Walpole’s collection of paintings had been sold to Catherine the Great of Russia in 1779 to pay off the accumulated debts of Sir Robert and the 2nd Earl of Orford.
The collection of model soldiers displayed in the museum was also remarkable. This was the lifetime hobby of the 6th Marquess, who had been a professional soldier himself.
COOPER AS LORD MAYOR
A strong band of Fruiterers joined a throng of other liverymen at the Guildhall on September 29 to elect the new Lord Mayor of London.
This historic ceremony has been performed annually and has been one of the most important City events for many centuries.
Prior to 1384, the meeting was known as a congregation and was constituted by the citizens of the square mile.
Sheriff and Alderman Ian Luder, a Cooper, was the successful candidate and was presented to the assembled Common Hall.
He will assume his duties at ‘The Silent Service’, held in the City on the afternoon of November 7. On the following day he will be paraded before the citizens of London in a ceremony that goes back to the 1200s.
The procession will be approximately three miles in length as the 871st Lord Mayor appears before the thousands that will line the route.
Originally, the ceremony passed along the River Thames, hence the expression ‘float’ that is used to this day.
The first time the title ‘Mayor’ was recorded goes back to 1189 and was accorded to a senior financial individual to Richard I.
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