WINTER NEWSLETTER
Best wishes to all for a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.
Please note that the Gardens will be closed on Christmas Day
TWILIGHT CAROLS IN CAVERSHAM COURT
Despite the disasters that have befallen Caversham Court Gardens this year, the Friends were determined to stage the now-traditional Twilight Carols in Caversham Court on Monday 15 December. The weather forecast was uncertain, but luck was with us and it was a magical evening, a truly community event. We are grateful to the St Peter's team, choir and bell-ringers , the Salvation Army band, to our MC Alex Forbes and to the Tea Kiosk team from local charities who served refreshments. Congratulations to Linda Humphreys-Evans, who master-minded the event and organised it with suuch skill. grateful thanks also, to our volunteer stewards and First Aiders who made the event possible. Heartfelt thanks go also to Head Gardener Will Paice and the RBC parks and events teams who gave us so much support and ensured that despite the red and white tape and the barriers everywhere, the gardens were safe to host the event
COMMUNITY ART PROJECT
One advantage of darkness, of course, was that you couldn't see much of the barriers! Never downcast for long, our treasurer, Hester Casey, has spotted an opportunity for more creative projects. Fast on the heels of her inspired Halloween trail, Hester plans a community art project using - yes, one of the Heras fencing units! Permission has been sought, so do look out for details on how to get involved.
CAR CRASH THROUGH THE FRONT GATES
Reading Borough Council's Culture and Heritage Programme Manager Christelle Beaupoux has sent us an update on the recent accident which destroyed the entrance gates:
Following the car accident on 23 October, we commissioned a structural assessment of the two impacted areas. A structural engineer confirmed that there is no structural damage resulting from the accident. But, as a precaution, the structural engineer recommended fencing off the damaged pier near the side entrance to prevent close public access. We are now contacting conservation architects and specialist contractors to obtain quotations for:
cosmetic repairs to the archway (including fixing/replacement of hinges)
replacement of the front iron and oak gate (to re-use the existing iron features as much as feasible)
conservation and repairs to the pier at the side entrance, including repointing flints and repairing/replacing stonework.
OTHER REPAIRS
Regular visitors to the gardens will have noticed that no progress has been made on the other reoair projects, and we still have the portaloo. We have been informed that the project to stabilise the eastern wall along Church Road. (to the left of the main entrance) has been rescoped to include the repair of the gazebo. Work on this is estimated to continue until the end of 2026. Repair of the stable yard wall is now scheduled to start in April/May 2026. The flints have been stowed away in bins in the stable yard in readiness for the repairs to start. As for the eastern wall along The Warren, a capital project bid has been submitted for work to conserve this. Once the financial situation has been ascertained, RBC officers will be able to communicate the next steps.
GOOD NEWS - NEW TREES
Following consultation with The Friends and Reading Tree Wardens, five trees have been ordered to replace five which died or have had to be felled in the gardens. These should be planted in this planting season.
ON TO 2026
We look forward to events in the gardens in 2026. If you have ideas for activities, please let us know, and we would welcome more helpers on the committee to share in planning and staging these. Our annual Volunteers' Meeting will be in February, on a date to be decided.
In the meantime, we wish all members of The Friends and their families and friends a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.
Vickie Abel and your FCCG committee (Treasurer Hester Casey, Secretary Val Peggem, Membership Secretary Ania Haskins, Reading Tree Warden Dave Kenny).
SUMMER NEWSLETTER
The Friends Committee have issued the latest news in their Summer Newsletter the contents of which are reproduced below.
Summer greetings to all members of The Friends, hoping that a turn round the gardens will help keep you cool during the heatwaves. Our thirsty plants need rain, but preferably overnight, since there are lots of events in the gardens to look forward to. Our Secretary, Val Peggem will keep you up to date by e-mail.
SWAN UPPING ON THE THAMES
Representatives of the Crown and the Vintners ands Dyers Livery Companies will be carrying out the annual census of swans during July. On Thursday 17 July they will depart from Sonning Bridge at 0900 reaching Caversham lock at 1015, Mapledurham at 1230 and Goring at 1700.
THE FEDERATION OF CHILDREN'S BOOK GROUPS
The Federation of Children's Book Groups will be gathering in the gardens on 3 August. Fingers crossed for fine weather for this popular event, which is already fully booked.
MINDFULNESS TRAIL
With the help of Charlotte Alchin of Green Health Thames Valley, The Friends will be developing a Mindfullness Trail in the gardens. This will go onto our website for visitors to print out. If you are interested in helping us develop this, please contact The Friends.
GUIDED TOURS AND TALKS
Curious about the history of Caversham Court and gardens? Why not take a guided tour or book a talk for your local interest group - contact The Friends at friends@fccg.org.uk
HERITAGE OPEN DAYS
Heritage Open Days booklets will be available soon, look out for copies at the Tea Kiosk and in local libraries. The Friends will be running 'Look, Draw, Build' architecture workshops for childsren 5+ on Saturday 13 September. Drop in between 1100 and 1300 or 1400 and 1600. Participants work at their own pace, usually taking around 45 minutes.
CADRA will be organising a series of talks on Saturday 13 September including one on Caversham bridge, which marks its centenary in 2026. More information on the CADRA website https://www.cadra.org.uk/ and in the Heritage Open day booklet.
UPDATE ON WALLS AND HAZARD BARRIERS
You may have a certain feeling of 'deja vu' when reading this newsletter, because little has changed since last year. We still have hazard barriers and the aesthetically challenging Mamoth portaloo as the first thing you see on entering the historic gardens.
Repair work has not yet started on the eastern wall (the wall to the left of the main entrance) because quotations from contractors were over budget. The task will now be re-scoped - but the good news is that RBC officers will try to include the Gazebo in the new project, and completion date is still hoped to be the summer of 2026. We currently have even more hazard barriers - now down The Warren, where the western wall (the perimiter of the allotments) has been declared unstable. The RBC officer charged with finding the money to pay for all these works has a huge task; we thank her for her efforts and keeping our fingers firmly crossed. The stable yard wall at least may be repaired before the end of 2025. If the relevant planning consent can be prepared in time. The same contractor may be able to restore the griffin's ear - sharp-eyed visitors may have noticed that one of the griffins has lost a ear. Thanks to Hester Casey for retrieving it from the adjacent flower bed.
Planting
The gardens have struggled in the current heatwave and drought conditions, 'though the hydrangeas in the White Garden are blooming magnificently. The Head Gardener is giving great care to the new yew hedge on the edge of the house footprint - this was funded by The Friends to replace the box hedge which succumbed to the box moth. Replacement of the box hedging along the timeline is still under discussion.
Signage
We are no further forward on the issue of signage, since every discussion on this thorny subject throws up more questions. Skateboarding on the house footprint is the latest craze, it seems one which won't do the stonework any good. Dogs off leads, cyclists whizzing through, aggressive games, barbecues... We need urgently to discourage children from clambering up trees, especially the ancient family yew, so we will start with that, but big signs with a list of 'Dont's' will only put visitors' backs up. We note that 'Keep dogs on leads' signs have been put up in the Forbury Gardens.
New Supervisor
At the last meeting of the Caversham Court Management Committee - which represents all the stakeholders (The Friends, the Tea Kiosk, St Peter's church, the allotment holders and RBC) - we were introduced to the new Streetscene Supervisor, Tom Whiteman, who has a background in horticulture. We welcome Tom and look forward to working with him.
VICKIE ABEL (Chair, The Friends of Caversham Court Gardens)