It was great to see Friends of
Mayow Park (FOMP) volunteers and Glendale staff working together on 12th
June 2018 on a joint grounds maintenance project to improve part of the park. This
work was not part of the usual maintenance routine but had been identified as
work we could do together in celebration
of Mayow Park’s 140th
anniversary as a public park and Friends of Mayow Park’s quarter century as a
park user group. On 1st June1878 the Sydenham and Forest Hill Public
Recreation Ground (later renamed as Mayow Park) was formally opened. Friends of
Mayow Park (previously called Mayow Park Users’ Group) held their first meeting
in April 1993.
AIMS
The aims of the
joint Glendale and FOMP session were agreed:
- To clean up the
Victorian drinking fountain
- To resurrect the
rockery near the modern drinking fountain
- To tidy up and make
more accessible the fruit and herb beds in the Triangle
- To thin out the
maple suckers which form a lovely den around an old maple tree stump
- To prune the privet
hedge and fruiting hedgerow where the aviary used to be, if time allowed
VICTORIAN DRINKING
FOUNTAIN:
The Victorian drinking fountain stands
as a memorial to the Rev William Taylor Jones and a symbol of Victorian
philanthropy. It remains an attractive ornament although the water supply
through lead piping was blocked way back in a bygone age. If you look carefully
you will see the filled-in holes from which water flowed. Hilary Jarrett, who
was Chair of the Friends of Mayow Park in the early this millennium, looked
into the possibility of restoring the fountain. However, expert advice warned that
such a project would be immensely expensive and risk causing serious damage to
the granite fountain. It was far better to keep the fountain as it is for it to
remain an acknowledgment of the past.
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| Victorian fountain in Mayow Park |
The fountain called for a clean-up to
celebrate its position in the park and that call was answered by Ian, with a
bucket and long- handled brush.
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| Ian arrives to spruce it up as a birthday treat |
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| Job done. Fountain cleaned |
We now have the modern drinking fountain,
beside the rockery, paid for by a grant to FOMP and installed by Glendale a
few years ago, thanks to Hilary’s persistence in seeking funds.
THE ROCKERY:
Behind the modern drinking
fountain stands a rockery. Every spring flowering bulbs grow in the rockery
before the forest of elder, ivy, bindweed, overgrown holly and other plants
take over. The rockery was revealed today when the team cut through the dense
undergrowth.
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| Where is the rockery? |
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| Rockery uncovered and cleared of rubbish |
Suitable rockery plants for shade were planted. These were sourced
by Glendale, purchased by the Friends and planted by Glendale’s grounds
maintenance staff and also acknowledge times past.
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| Rockery planted |
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| . . . and more plants |
FRUIT BED
Nearby, close to the modern
drinking water fountain, the Friends tend fruit and herb beds. Today the fruit
bed saw five volunteers hard at work. One started pruning the fruiting hedgerow
on two sides of the bed. The others cut back the grass growing round the
redcurrant bushes, the raspberry canes and the fruit trees, releasing these
plants from hiding. The grass in the central space was also cut so that people
can now bring their picnic mats and enjoy a less overlooked space. No photos of this at the moment.
MAPLE DEN
Directly opposite the fruit bed
is a bench and a maple tree stump surrounded by maple stems which have suckered
up to surround the stump and create a ‘den’ for children and adults to explore.
The stump itself is a haven for invertebrates and possibly even elusive stag
beetle larvae hiding deep in the dense wood. The suckered growth was overgrown
and needed thinning, brambles growing through it and covering the ground.
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| Den looking in - before clearing |
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| Den from outside before clearing |
So a team armed with loppers, saws and
secateurs worked to thin back the maple growth and cut through the brambles.
The work also revealed the variegated holly behind the maple stems. Children and adults can now enter the den
without scratching themselves on thorns.
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| Maple den after clearing |
OLD AVIARY SITE
The site near the tennis courts,
where the aviary used to be, is referred to as ‘the hard standing’. It has a
privet hedge and a fruiting hedgerow. Glendale staff trimmed the privet which
had become overgrown and straggly. The fruiting hedgerow was carefully pruned
to leave the flowering wild roses which add colour to the space and encourage insects.
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| Work in progress |
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| Smile for the camera |
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| Hedge trimmed |
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| Hedgerow pruned |
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| Roses in the hedgerow |
THANKS
Thank you to the FOMP volunteers
and Glendale staff for a productive
session and great team work. Our efforts were a fitting celebration of
Mayow140 and FOMP 25.
Below are some photos of Glendale staff at work. Someone forgot to take photos of the FOMP volunteers, but we were there - honest!
