The crab apple tree in blossom
The site has now been handed over to Newham Parks and Cultures. We had a productive meeting on site to discuss the final works which hopefully can still be carried out with the remaining budged. We have decided to keep the fence in place for a while longer and open the site to the public in a slow process. The money saved from leaving the fence up will most likely be used to mend the fence and install a new gate at the community end of the site. The next step will be to enter into a key agreement’ with the Parks and Cultures.
Earlier on we tentatively pruned the crab apple tree. Our first act of gardening on site since it has been cleared. The pruning advice given to me was ‘make it look like a tree’ – The apples on the tree were always out of reach behind the fence and the tall bramble bushes that used to grow on site. I am really looking forward to actually pick one of them after having watched the tree for over five years and observing numerous people fighting their way through the bushes to taste the apples. Though it has been pointed out to me that crab apples are no good for eating but good for making jelly.
Photo: Tim French
Somewhere has arrived in true style and with full gardening outfit. Karen and Nina with support of Tim and John have been very busy excavating an area of the site to expose the original soil. Nina and Karen want to see what seeds the original soil holds in order to create a seed sample of the existing plant live before the arrival of the new topsoil and before the council will start seeding the area later in the month. It has been a real pleasure to start digging on site and put hands and feet to it. Helped by the weather this felt like the first communal gardening session. Kids running around, picknicks on the floor, and a little sun burn. – Thanks very much Karen, Nina, Tim and John.
Also check Nina’s Flickr page with more images of the site – click here or the images below
Photos: Nina Pope
Since then Nina and Karen have presented their first ideas for their proposal in a meeting with Newham Council and Modus Operandi. You can follow their progress on the blog they set up. They also found a name for the project which is: “What will the harvest be“. Among many ideas Nina and Karen propose a phased development of the site which test ideas with temporary interventions over the next two years. Nina and Karen will present their final proposal in a month or two. Then we need to fund raise.
Also present at the meeting was Elizabeth Whitbourn who is the English Heritage field advisor for the Abbey Gardens site.
Robert Rogers and Karen Guthrie
Thanks to Nina and Karen I finally met face to face with Robert Rogers who has been contributing to many blog entries so far and has a wealth of local knowledge. Robert took us on a small tour around the site and the immediate area. I was really interested in the procession that the Monks lead from the Church to the Abbey along bakers row passing through the gate.
“it was said that West Ham Church was attached to the Abbey, so therefore staff from the Abbey which would have included the Monks would have used both, and at the time of Building the area was all farming, so there must have been some form of path between the two, if only one beaten down by their foot prints. Most modern roads follow old paths, and even today motorways mainly follow railway routes, which in turn followed Canals, which in turn run along the routes of the old turn pikes, many of which were just the old Muddy tracks that people would walk from A to B, normally by the most straightforward route, again very often from Church to Church as these at the time were the highest buildings which could be seen from a distance.”
Finally the environmental health officer came back with clarification of the soil report. See earlier entry – However it does not really clarify the issue:
Here is what they said:
“Bakers Row West Ham E15
Ground Investigation
Examination of the ground investigation indicates that there are elevated levels of arsenic, lead and Benzo (α) pyrene, with levels of up to 50mg/kg for arsenic, approximately 1000mg/kg for lead and 1.4mg/kg from a small number of samples taken in a random manner rather than the approved CLEA (Contaminated Land Exposure Assessment) methodology, despite the consultants stating that they have been taken and analysed in accordance with CLR11, (Model Procedures for the Management of Land Contamination) which requires a formal and regular grid pattern , and a larger number of samples. The statistics carried out by the company are therefore not valid. Statistical analysis to correct these factors has been undertaken, and the results indicate that there remains a slight problem.
If vegetables and fruit trees are grown on this site then there needs to be a minimum of 1000mm of clean topsoil over the site, with any trees planted in pits lined with a root membrane or in oversized pits backfilled with clean material. There would be no additional requirements to the recommended 600mm of clean topsoil in respect of the general planting of trees, shrubs etc, or with leisure use of the land by the general public.”
Sharon Swift righly pointed out that the purpose of the two reports was to determine the quality of the soil which was to be removed and to determine the quality of the soil that was dug out during the excarvation of the Gate house remains. The samples were taken from the mounds which since have been cleared. It would be best to undertake a fresh set of tests on a formal grid pattern. Luckily we can make the money stretch a bit more and sample the soil at the community section of the site.
With funding running out and no new funding secured at this stage it will also mean that Sharon Swift the landscape architect from Newham Council will not be involved as much. She has been extremely supportive and helpful in getting us this far. Thank you very much Sharon.
