A hall, a walled garden and heritage apples

Martin Fish visits a walled garden in Lancashire to find a gardening team committed to an environmentally friendly approach to growing

- Martin Fish

Astley Hall in Chorley, Lancashire is owned and run by Chorley Council, having been gifted to the then Chorley Corporation in 1922 by its last owner, Reginald Tatton. The Grade I listed building was built in the mid-17th century and is set in parkland that is known as Astley Park. The park and renovated coach house and cafe and the walled garden are open daily, free of charge. The walled garden is co-managed by Chorley Council and the Astley Walled Gardeners. 

The earliest evidence of a garden at Astley Hall can be seen on a 1710 painting of the hall, but the first mention of the walled garden is from an entry in the accounts of the Brooke family, who built the present hall. It shows a sum of £20, 5s 8½d paid on October 25, 1757, to Thomas Rollinson for building a wall around the garden at Astley Hall.

However, the walled garden as we see it today only dates back around 15 years because like many old walled gardens during the 20th century, they were used for other things. For many years the walled garden was used as a council yard, but between 2007 and 2009 the walled garden was fully restored to include a collection of heritage fruit trees.

Day-to-day running of the walled garden is done by a team of eager volunteers known as the Astley Walled Gardeners. Chair of the 22 volunteers is Carol Jacques and to ensure there are always a few volunteers working in the garden, there is a rota. The amount each volunteer does depends on how much free time they have, while working away behind the scenes is also a treasurer and secretary.

ORGANIC GROWING