The National Trust has plans to restore a 100 year old potting shed which is in Avebury Manor gardens. The potting shed will then open to visitors. There will be exhibitions telling the historic garden story, ‘how to guides’, and seasonal displays from the garden team.
The potting shed is in urgent need of repair – the roof is collapsing and large tree roots are damaging the walls. From old maps it’s clear that previous buildings were on or near this site although their purpose remains unknown. It is possible that at one time a building close to here was used as a domestic dairy.
Hazel Barry-Scott, Senior Visitor Experience Officer at Avebury said, ‘The garden at Avebury has such a lovely history and we want to share more of this with our visitors. The work of the garden team today is also really interesting and we’re imagining seasonal displays in the potting shed which will bring this work to life.’
Fundraising for the potting shed restoration has started. B etween now and October the Avebury team will be selling raffle tickets. Last year’s raffle raised over £11,000 for the refurbishment of Alexander Keiller’s 1930’s drawing office. This year the team are hoping to raise sufficient funds to restore the potting shed.
Simon Brooks, Head Gardener at Avebury said: ”Bringing another part of the garden back to life is an exciting opportunity. It will provide a dedicated space to tell the story of the garden, enable authentic storage of produce from the Kitchen Garden, overwintering of plants and practical demonstrations of horticultural techniques and skills.”
Fundraising relies on a fantastic team of volunteers who sell tickets and chat to visitors about the exciting plans. The team at Avebury would love to have more volunteers to help bring this historic building back to life. If you think you can help please get in touch by emailing fraser.normington@nationaltrust.org.uk.
