Fulham Palace Meadows Allotments © Diana Jarvis
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HF1. Emery Walker’s House W6 9TS Map 9
HAMMERSMITH AND FULHAM
Emery Walker, the great printer and antiquary who helped his friend and neighbour William Morris to set up the Kelmscott Press, lived at No 7 Hammersmith Terrace. After Walker’s death, his daughter Dorothy preserved the house as it had been during her father’s lifetime. The house is Britain’s best-preserved Arts and Crafts interior and is full of original William Morris wallpapers, textiles and furniture. The garden boasts a raised platform at the end which overlooks the River Thames, original terracotta tiles from the late 1890s, a Cotswold-stone alpine trough and a grapevine grown from a cutting taken at Hogarth’s House. Open: Sunday 2-5pm Entrance: 7 Hammersmith Terrace Access: No wheelchair access; steps up to house and down to garden and different levels at the end of the garden; can be slippery when wet Nearest station: Hammersmith (1.5km) Buses: 190, 267, 391, H91 Conditions: Limited entry in half-hour slots Website: www.emerywalker.org.uk
Emery Walker’s House © The Emery Walker Trust
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HF2. Fulham Palace Meadows Allotments SW6 6EA Map 13
Volunteers from Fulham Palace Meadows Allotment Association (FPMAA) run this site by the River Thames. The allotments cover an Anglo-Saxon site of historical importance which is set within a designated Scheduled Ancient Monument area and is under the jurisdiction of English Heritage. In the later Middle Ages, Fulham Palace is said to have been the largest moated residence in Europe. The site was a gift from the Bishop of London in 1916. FPMAA plays a vital part in local life with local residents from all walks of life experiencing something very special within this inner-city haven of more than 400 plots. Open: Saturday 11.30am-3.30pm Entrance: Allotments entrance in Bishop’s Avenue opposite the tennis courts; also rear gate opening directly to Fulham Palace Access: Narrow paths with uneven surfaces, not very suitable for wheelchairs Nearest station: Putney Bridge Buses: 14, 22, 74, 414, 430 Website: www.fpmaa.com WC
HF3. John Betts House W12 9NJ Map 9
John Betts House is a private garden for older people and is part of the Hammersmith United Charities’ Almshouses. The enclosed communal garden won first place and the Challenge Cup for best small community garden from The London Gardens Society in 2017 and was named runner-up in the same competition last year. The well-planted garden features many interesting varieties as well as hanging baskets, a greenhouse, raised vegetable beds, a water feature and balconies with residents’ container gardens. The residents are rightly proud of their beautiful and tranquil garden. Open: Saturday 2-5pm Entrance: Goldhawk Road/Rylett Road Nearest station: Stamford Brook Buses: 94, 237, 272 Website: www.hamunitedcharities.org.uk WC
HF4. Phoenix Farm and Learning Zone W12 7DB Map 4
Award-winning Phoenix Farm provides a learning resource for schools and local community groups and offers volunteering opportunities for local residents. The one-acre farm produces over 40 varieties of fruit and vegetables, as well as medicinal herbs, plants to attract wildlife and edible flowers from its glasshouses and beds. There is a community orchard, soft fruits and wildlife areas, as well as bees, rabbits and chickens. This garden in the centre of the White City Estate has won many awards including a Gold Medal at Hampton Court Flower Show in 2016 and Gold in the RHS ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ campaign. Open: Saturday 10am-4pm, Sunday 10am-4pm Entrance: Adjacent to Phoenix Fitness Centre, Bloemfontein Road Access: Accessible toilet in adjacent fitness centre Nearest stations: White City, Wood Lane (not Sunday) Buses: 220, 283 Website: www.hcga.org.uk/gardens/phoenix-school-farm/ WC
HF5. Ravenscourt Park Glasshouses W6 0UL Map 9
Hammersmith Community Gardens Association has brought Ravenscourt Park Glasshouses and walled garden back to life since taking over the management of them in 2004, after they fell into disrepair. The display glasshouse has lots of scented fruit and flower varieties. The Shelf Life project is very popular with children and adults, as it shows plants growing in food containers, for example tomatoes in a ketchup bottle and potatoes in a crisp packet. Volunteers use another greenhouse to raise seedlings and cuttings for the site and other local community gardens. The beautiful walled garden includes a medicinal herb border and vegetable plots. Open: Saturday 10am-4pm, Sunday 10am-4pm Entrance: To the right of the café in the park Nearest station: Ravenscourt Park Buses: 94, 190, 237, 266, 267, 391, H91 Website: www.hcga.org.uk WC
HF6. Sycamore House W6 0AS Map 9
This hidden garden, which was designed and planted in 2012, is an oasis of tranquility in the middle of Shepherd’s Bush. Sycamore House provides sheltered housing for the over 60s and is managed by Hammersmith United Charities. Residents are actively involved in the garden through planting, workshops and social events. It won London Gardens Society awards in 2017 and 2018 in the large community garden category. The relaxing and interesting garden, which is a sister garden to John Betts House, includes plants to encourage bees and butterflies, a pond, pergola and arches for climbing plants as well as a large community greenhouse. Open: Saturday 2-5pm Entrance: Sycamore Gardens Access: Easy access Nearest station: Goldhawk Road Buses: 94, 237 Website: www.hamunitedcharities.org.uk/housing/sycamorehouse WC
HF7. William Morris Society W6 9TA Map 9
William Morris, one of the most significant figures in the arts and crafts movement, lived at Kelmscott House for the last 18 years of his life. He wrote: ‘The situation is certainly the prettiest in London... the garden is really most beautiful.’ This small garden contains some plants which feature in Morris’s textile and wallpaper designs. The shady lower garden features ferns, which thrive in its microclimate. The lower floors of Kelmscott House are now used as the headquarters of the William Morris Society. A registered museum dedicated to his life and work is open on Thursdays and Saturdays, 2-5pm. Open: Sunday 2-5pm Entrance: 26 Upper Mall; through the coach house in the cobbled courtyard, to the left of the house Access: Access to garden up three steps; Coach House accessible to wheelchair users across a cobbled drive Nearest station: Hammersmith Buses: 91, 267, 290 Website: www.williammorrissociety.org WC