Grab a blanket and a picnic and come down to the garden this Sunday for our Midsummer Picnic, filled with fun events!
Tomorrow: Midsummer Picnic at Granton Castle Walled Garden
Tag: Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden
Hope springs eternal at Walled Garden
PLAQUE UNVEILED TO COMMEMORATE FORMER CASTLE TENANT
On 28 March we had a gathering at the Walled Garden when John & Agnes Smith, the previous owners, unveiled Historic Environment Scotland’s plaque commemorating Sir Thomas Hope (writes LINDA GARCIA).
Thomas Hope was born around 1580. He studied with the intention of going into law and was admitted as an Advocate on 7 February 1605.
Hope gained prominence in 1606 when he defended John Forbes (c. 1568-1634), Minister of Alford, and others, at Linlithgow, on the charge of having committed treason when they declined to acknowledge the jurisdiction claimed by the Privy Council (of James VI of Scotland, James I of Great Britain and Ireland) over the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
Although his clients were convicted, Hope had shown himself to be in the top rank at the Bar. He became a very successful lawyer and profits from his practices enabled him to build estates in Fife, Stirlingshire, Midlothian, East Lothian, and Berwickshire. In May 1626 he was appointed Lord Advocate and in 1628 he was granted a Nova Scotia baronetcy.
In 1634 he managed to secure the conviction of James Elphinstone, Lord Balmerino, for treason. These were difficult years of religious strife but Hope managed to avoid any participation in the preparation of the National Covenant, nor did he sign it. However, he did pronounce an opinion in favour of its legality.
Although his son, Sir Thomas Hope of Kerse, served with the army of the Covenanters, Hope neither declared the action of the Covenanters to be illegal, nor did he defend episcopacy, thus putting himself in a precarious position.
Indeed, when a Committee of the Estates (Scottish Parliament) required his official signature to Writs of Summons against opponents of the Covenant, he refused it because there was no authority for this from King Charles I.
In 1643 he opposed the proposal to summon the Estates without any warrant from Charles. Hope’s publications include the legal treatises Minor practicks and Major practicks, Carmen saeculare (1626) in honour of Charles, and a Latin translation of the Psalms and the Song of Solomon.
Sir Thomas Hope died on 1 October 1646. Of his four sons, three became Lords of Session and one of these became Lord Justice General. A fourth son was Cupbearer to Charles I.
Descendants of Sir Thomas Hope would become Earls of Hopetoun as a reward for supporting the Act of Union with England in 1707, and later on Marquises of Linlithgow.
LINDA GARCIA
Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden
Plaque unveiling at Granton Castle Walled Garden this afternoon
HISTORIC Environment Scotland (HES) will unveil a plaque to commemorate Sir Thomas Hope at Granton Castle Walled Garden this afternoon.
Sir Thomas Hope, one of Scotland’s leading legal minds in the 17th century, lived for a time in Granton Castle. The Baronet is buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard.
To attend or for more information please contact grantongarden@gmail.com
Plaque unveiling at Granton Castle Walled Garden
MONDAY 28 MARCH at 3pm
Open afternoon at Granton Castle Walled Garden
THURSDAY 24th MARCH – ALL WELCOME
Blooming Beautiful! Awards celebrate our climate and nature friendly neighbourhoods
18 Edinburgh community groups recognised for commitment to keeping Scotland beautiful
Today, 11 November, over 200 community groups from across Scotland have been recognised by environmental charity, Keep Scotland Beautiful, for their efforts to support and enhance their local communities, for the climate and for nature.
At a virtual 2021 Beautiful Scotland and It’s Your Neighbourhood Seminar and celebration event, 18 It’s Your Neighbourhood entrants from Edinburgh were congratulated for their efforts with a certificate of achievement (see table below), with four also receiving a Certificate of Distinction for continuous improvement.
In addition, Friends of Starbank Park also won second place in the NatureScot It’s Your Neighbourhood Pollinator Friendly Awards.
Catherine Gee, Deputy CEO of Keep Scotland Beautiful said: “With the world’s biggest and most important climate change conference to date taking place in Glasgow this week, it is brilliant to be celebrating the work of these communities in Edinburgh who are taking action now.
“We know that across Scotland people are committed to improving and enhancing the places that they care about. And, through the It’s Your Neighbourhood entrants we hear of people doing their bit to understand their own greenhouse emissions and to support nature in the places they care about. These people are making a real difference and I would like to thank them for inspiring us every day.”
This year, three NatureScot It’s Your Neighbourhood Pollinator Friends Awards were presented at the seminar and Friends of Starbank Park, scooped second place, winning £150.
Jim Jeffrey, Pollinator Strategy Manager with NatureScot, who announced the award said: “Once again the Keep Scotland Beautiful Pollinator Friendly Award has attracted a host of interesting entries. The standard just gets better each year.
“Making space for nature, as we face up to the twin threat of climate change and biodiversity loss, has never been more important, and each of the community groups in this category have impressed with the range of actions they are taking.
“The winning projects were among a of number of great examples showing how working together we can help pollinators, whilst making our communities and green spaces more appealing, and fantastic places to spend time in.”
The annual seminar celebrated everything that the entrants, from 30 local authority areas, have achieved in their communities to combat climate change and support biodiversity.
Entrants have also worked to enhance their neighbourhoods, involve the community, and improve areas through gardening and horticulture while tackling litter and other environmental quality challenges.
Speakers included representatives from various entrants from across Scotland, sharing their inspiring stories and delegates also heard about the exciting opportunity to get involved with Scotland’s Climate Festival.
It’s Your Neighbourhood entrants were visited by one of 23 trained volunteer assessors who provide their support, expertise and guidance through the It’s Your Neighbourhood framework which is a part of the UK-wide RHS Britain in Bloom campaign.
RHS Community Development Manager Kay Clark said: “Community gardening groups are showing that, through their work, they can bring communities together, transform outdoor spaces and work in support of wildlife and the local environment.
“They are showing that gardening has a role to play in addressing the challenges that we collectively face and that is every reason to celebrate.”
If you would like to join the #OurBloom family, gain access to support and advice, and help us to keep Scotland beautiful, online registration for 2022 will open in mid-January on the Keep Scotland Beautiful website.
The Edinburgh entrants and their results can be found in the table below:
| Group Name | Local authority area | IYN Certificate 2021 | Level 2021 | Certificate of Distinction 2021 |
| Balerno Village Gardeners | City of Edinburgh | Outstanding | 5 | Y |
| Craigentinny Community Gardening Project | City of Edinburgh | Improving | 2 | |
| Ferry Road Allotments | City of Edinburgh | Outstanding | 5 | |
| Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden | City of Edinburgh | Thriving | 4 | Y |
| Friends of Lauriston Castle Estate | City of Edinburgh | Advancing | 3 | |
| Friends of Morningside Cemetery | City of Edinburgh | Thriving | 4 | |
| Friends of Saughton Park | City of Edinburgh | Outstanding | 5 | |
| Friends of Starbank Park (NatureScot IYN Pollinator Friendly Award – second place) | City of Edinburgh | Outstanding | 5 | Y |
| Heart of Newhaven | City of Edinburgh | Advancing | 3 | |
| Inch View Care Home | City of Edinburgh | Thriving | 4 | |
| Inspiring Hillside | City of Edinburgh | Advancing | 3 | |
| Inverleith Allotments | City of Edinburgh | Outstanding | 5 | |
| Kirkliston in Bloom | City of Edinburgh | Establishing | 1 | |
| Lochend Community Growing Project | City of Edinburgh | Outstanding | 5 | Y |
| Northfield Community Growing Group | City of Edinburgh | Advancing | 3 | |
| The Lions’ Gate | City of Edinburgh | Advancing | 3 | |
| The Sorted Project | City of Edinburgh | Improving | 2 | |
| Victoria After School Club | City of Edinburgh | Thriving | 4 |
Halloween Weekend with Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden
Join us in the garden on the spooky Halloween weekend!
Come for a roam round our hallowed sites with other scary ghouls with activities for the little monsters!!
AGM invite from Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden
Dear Friend of Granton Castle Walled Garden,
We will be holding our AGM via Zoom on Wednesday 26th May from 5:30 – 6.30pm.
It is open to everyone who would like an update on the progress of the charity.
If you would like to attend, please email grantongarden@gmail.com and we will send you the Zoom link the day before.
If you would like to have a say in what goes on and be able to vote, we would ask you to become a member, which is free and can be done by filling out the attached form (below) and returning it to us via email, post or in-person.
We look forward to seeing you if you can make it!
All the best,
Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden
Website grantoncastlewalledgarden.wordpress.com/
Postal Address:
Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden
c/o Social Bite Village, 23 West Shore Road
Edinburgh, EH5 1QB.
Granton Castle Walled Garden reopens today
News from Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden
The Walled Garden is reopening to the public this weekend!
The garden is coming into bloom and bursting into life and we would like to welcome the public back to this little haven. We will be opening our doors to the public on Saturdays and Sundays, 2 to 4PM, from 8th May.
Our enthusiastic team of volunteers and trustees have been hard at work preparing the garden for the coming year and we are investigating ways to restore our valued, historic structures. We have plenty of ideas for the garden, so many thanks to our supporters and funding bodies. When visiting the garden, we will have our donations box at the entrance, please feel free to support us if you wish so.
We are putting in place a one-way system and will have sanitising gel available to make our walled garden a safe, green, space to come and enjoy the open air.
Volunteers and staff will be on hand to answer questions and tell you about the exciting past, present and future of one of Edinburgh’s oldest walled market gardens.
Development Officer Appointment
The Friends have appointed their first Development Officer!
Georgia Forsyth Sijpestijn has worked and volunteered in north Edinburgh for almost a decade and is excited to have started last month. With a background in community gardening, organic farming and communications, we welcome her to the new role.
She will be on hand to answer any questions, manage social media and communications. You can find her most days in our Bothy, so please do come say hello!
AGM Date Set
We are holding our AGM online, open to all members for voting on 26th May at 5:30PM.
More details will follow but please get in touch if you would like to become a member of the charity or renew your membership and have your say in what goes on.
We are always growing and exploring new ideas, so please email us at grantongarden@gmail.com to request a membership form and sign up for free
Opening Hours for Visitors
2 – 4pm Saturday and Sunday.
Our Volunteer Hours
Please contact us through our Facebook, email or Volunteer Edinburgh to sign up.
11am – 1pm: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
Still time to apply for Walled Garden development officer post
Granton Castle Walled Garden Development Officer (one year)
N.B. REVISED CLOSING DATE 8/1/2021
Are you interested in working with local volunteers and community groups to help protect and develop a late medieval walled garden in North West Edinburgh?
The Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden are looking for a Development Officer to coordinate plans for work in the garden and in the community over the coming year, a time when we will all hope to see a different world emerging.
£15 ph for an average of 24hpw on a self-employed basis.
Under the oversight of the Trustees, duties would include:
Developing our website, communications and social media with regular updates and monthly newsletters;
Reorganising our database to update our contacts, volunteers, members/friends and associates while ensuring GDPR compliance;
Fundraising for our strategic plan including future funding for administrator, gardener, green gym, Victorian greenhouse re-build, workshops and events, utilities etc.;
Coordinating volunteers, special interest groups and working parties, especially for gardening, workshops and events;
Strengthening links with educational and community groups and increase participation of local residents;Updating policies: eg H & S, Safeguarding, Volunteer Induction;
Exploring feasibility of installation of electricity and water.
Hours of work will vary due to garden seasonality, events, workshops, meetings and when volunteers are available and will include some weekend working.
Formal qualifications are not essential, but experience of communicating and networking with Council and community groups, good MS Office and fund-raising skills and expertise in social media and database development, preferably within an historic, horticultural environment, required.
Interviews will be held in January 2021 to start in March 2021.
For more information please see https://www.facebook.com/GrantonCastleGarden/
If interested, apply with CV and names and email addresses of 2 referees to:
grantongarden@gmail.com
OR
Chair, Friends of Granton Castle Walled Garden,
23 West Shore Road, Edinburgh, EH5 1QB.
CLOSING DATE: Friday, 8th January