April 2011 (issue 123) - The Sussex Archaeological Society

Feature
MICHELHAM GARDENS
MICHELHAM GARDENS
Feature
Garden Make-Over at Mich
Medieval monastic gardens recreated at Michelham Priory
ince joining the staff as head
S gardener in September of
2007, I have been conducting
research into medieval gardens as
part of an ongoing programme of
refurbishment and improvement of
the gardens at Michelham Priory.
This research has focussed on the
relationship between the Monastic
life of the Augustinian Canons (the
Priory’s original inhabitants), and the
developing horticultural practices of
the period. It has been undertaken
with a view to improve the way
the history of the Priory gardens
is explained to the visiting public,
and aims to appeal to the more
dedicated horticulturist as well as
someone looking for an interesting
day out in beautiful surroundings.
The intended outcome is to include
more of the gardens’ story as part
of the planned reinterpretation of
the Priory.
The Priory gardens include three
areas that have been recreated as
medieval style features, these are
the Orchard, the Physic garden and
the Cloister garden. The Orchard
and the Physic gardens would have
been essential for the Canons as
they would have been a largely self
sufficient community producing all
their own food and medicinal herbs.
The Cloister garden has been built
on the site of the original cloisters
and exhibits some elements of
medieval garden design, planting
and techniques. Unfortunately
there is no surviving documentation
or archaeological evidence to
prove that these features existed
at Michelham when it functioned
as a Priory from 1229 up to its
dissolution in 1536. The garden
recreations present today have
been based on existing plans and
documentation from other monastic
sites in Europe, for example the
Benedictine foundation of St Gall in
Switzerland.
The Orchard
The orchard would have served
as much more than a functional
space for providing fruit. In many
other monastic sites it was used
as a cemetery and in both Persian
and Christian traditions the orchard
was an aspect of paradise. For
the Canons it was a place for
meditation on mortality, death and
rebirth as well as the sustaining
nature of creation. We know that it
is unlikely the orchard was situated
on the island at Michelham as
many canons were buried following
the Black Death in 1348 but their
bodies were never found here.
The Orchard.
Photo: S Reid
Today’s orchard consists of
many dessert and cooking apples
planted in lines as its central feature.
These are under planted with wild
daffodils for colour in early spring
and a selection of wild flowers that
continue this decorative display
until late August. Other fruiting
trees in this area include medlars,
mulberries, walnuts, sweet
chestnuts, plums and quince.
Originally these would have been
raised from grafts and from seed in
dedicated beds for each species.
These horticultural techniques
would have passed between the
monasteries throughout Europe
and been studied by the canons.
An example of written evidence
we have of orchards and the stock
available during the medieval
period is included by J Harvey in
his book Medieval Gardens which
gives us an insight into the practical
development of horticulture and the
increasing number of food plants
grown. The Westminster Abbey
customary compiled about 1270,
laid upon the monk gardener the
duty of supplying apples, cherries,
plums, pears, nut, and medlars.
The painting above shows a
typical orchard set up. On the right
is a nursery of trees behind a wattled
fence, on the left harvesting the
apple crop, in one tree a man beats
down fruit with a stick perhaps for
making verjuice or possibly cider.
In another tree presumably bearing
dessert apples, a man carefully
picks fruit from a tall ladder.
Pictures like these give us a rare
view of how gardens where laid out
in this period as few plans exist.
Harvey’s research also provides
images that show evidence for
design elements and planting
included in the Priory’s cloister
garden.
The Cloister Garden
Originally the cloister would
have been at the centre of the
complex linking the church, study,
administration and domestic areas
and would have been used for
procession, study and recreation.
A covered area or walk would have
surrounded an open central area
know as a Garth. Traditionally many
garths were turfed green as the
colour was considered to “refresh
encloistered eyes and the desire to
study returns”.
The Cloister garden.
In the cloister at Michelham these
turfed areas are sown with wild
flowers and are the centre piece
for other features documented in
the medieval garden. In one corner
raised beds provide an example of
how physic herbs would have been
grown with one variety per bed. In
another a turf area is enclosed by
raised beds in which vegetables of
the period are displayed. The rest
of the cloister is based on medieval
designs of pleasure gardens and
includes decorative plants typical
of the period such as Columbine,
Madonna lilies and the red Gallica
rose. These are then surrounded
by a wooden structure supporting
grape vines that symbolises the
covered walkway.
Harvey’s research provides us
with other images as evidence for
use of these design features and
plantings; for example the picture
(below left) of a small ‘herba’ c1510
shows an enclosed garden that
contains small lawns intersected
by paths. It also includes a clump
of Madonna lilies and a large rose
bush. Outside is a well pit.
The Physic Garden
The Physic garden is the last of
the medieval gardens at the Priory,
and perhaps the most interesting.
The recent discovery of the original
planting scheme, mouse nibbled,
at the back of a dusty cupboard
provided the impetus for a complete
refurbishment of the area, which
began last summer.
The history of herbs in the
practice of ‘physic’ or medicine is a
long one. The many historical herbal
texts all had as a common base the
knowledge of plants and their uses
acquired by early man, first as hunter
and gatherer, and later as a settled
agriculturalist. By trial and error the
best plants for food and drink, fuel,
dyes, medicine and magic were
discovered. The Monastic centres
of Europe were responsible for
preserving the knowledge of herbal
healing through the dark ages. The
first herb gardens were probably
established in monasteries as early
as 830.
The physic garden at Michelham
shows a selection of the plants
which would have been used by an
infirmarer in the practical application
of medicine, or ‘physic’, during
the period when it functioned as a
priory, up to its Dissolution in 1536.
Many plants belong to our native
flora, growing wild in hedgerow and
field. Others, though long familiar
in gardens, were introduced from
Europe and Asia, some by the
Romans, others no doubt through
the visits of British monks to the
Continent as missionaries.
The infirmarer of a monastery
would have prepared and
administered all kinds of medicine
to both monks and lay people
including skin and eye ointments,
cordials, purgatives, sedatives,
cough mixtures, air and floor
fresheners and special pot herb
mixtures for convalescents. Herbs
from the garden were supplemented
by common ones collected from the
wild, spare produce being carefully
dried and stored. Each plant had
many applications and all parts
of a plant were used in recipes.
Roots, bark and hard seeds were
pulverised for powders, or soaked
and boiled for a decoction. An
infusion was made by pouring
boiling water over fresh leaves and
flowers and a poultice by pulping
fresh plants with a little water to
bind them into a mass.
The Physic Garden.
The layout of the Physic garden
is modern, with plants arranged
into groupings according to their
Medicinal uses. During the last
year the more rampant of the plant
species have been controlled and
others that have disappeared
under the onslaught have been
reintroduced. The aim is to include
all apart from the most poisonous
of species included in the original
planting. To clarify which plants
belong to which groups each section
has been staked and roped off,
and the plan is to provide signage
detailing one plant species from
each section, with an explanation
of its historic usage.
Stuart Reid
Head Gardener
Michelham Priory
Sussex Past & Present April 2011
www.sussexpast.co.uk www.romansinsussex.co.uk Sussex Past & Present April 2011
Photo: S Reid
Photo: S Reid