HERITAGE
Treasures
restored
After a historically-minded transformation, Walpole
Park has officially reopened. And next to get the
makeover treatment is Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery,
the grand building to which the park was once the
grounds. Nancy Ludwig reports.
A
carefully researched
£4.9million facelift has
restored the park to the
glorious days when its
famous creator, the celebrated architect
Sir John Soane, roamed the grounds.
It has completely remodelled the
landscape, giving visitors the same
kind of view that Soane and his
generation would have enjoyed when
they gazed across Walpole’s rolling
green spaces in the early 1800s.
Soane’s original stone bridge has
been lovingly restored and the two
water features have been recreated.
Dozens of varieties of Regency period
16
around ealing
Winter 2014/15
trees, flowers and shrubs have also
been planted and the ancient cedar
trees have been carefully pruned.
A keen horticulturalist, Soane would
have been especially pleased with
the restoration of the walled kitchen
garden which now boasts heritage
varieties of fruit and vegetables, set
within new, raised beds surrounded by
meandering pathways.
Still very much a contemporary
open space, however, Walpole’s not
just about Regency grandeur and
painstakingly recreated period details.
The park’s transformation owes as
much to the inclusion of modern new
attractions. These include a triplezone children’s playground – complete
with see-saw operated timber ‘forest
fountains’ – and the Rickyard education
centre that houses a café kiosk, public
toilets and a classroom.
The perfect mix of old and new
means Walpole Park will be a
favourite destination for all ages,