• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Danesbury Fernery

'the best fernery to be found in the Home Counties'

  • About
  • Galleries
  • Fernery Video 2023
  • News
  • Calendar
  • Location
  • Support Us
    • Donate
  • Become a Volunteer
    • What do Volunteers do?
  • Garden Strategy and Design
  • Funding
  • History
    • The House
      • Historical note – the Closure of Danesbury Hospital in 1993
    • The Families
      • A time Line – Post Fernery
    • The Fernery
      • Fern Fever
      • The Gardener
      • Pulhamite
  • Local Nature Reserve
    • Butterflies/Invertebrates
    • Fungi
    • Wild Flowers – Nature Reserve
  • Reports
    • Progress
    • Visits & Visitors
  • Contact
You are here: Home / News / Oct 2022 – Restoring South Bank Steps

Oct 2022 – Restoring South Bank Steps

4th November 2022 By John Roper Leave a Comment

Early 19th Century gardening journals told us that steps existed from near the entrance down to the grotto but we had not been able to establish the location to any degree of certainty. There were two or three slopes that might have provided a route that matched the description but in January 2018 Ann and Becca started excavating one of the rock slopes. Over the course of a few working parties they began to uncover concrete blocks that looked as though they could have been risers to a staircase, and there the (stair)case rested – until October 2022.

Alan Bishop & Associates returned to Danesbury Fernery in October 2022 to reconstruct the steps on the South Bank that had been excavated in 2018 as part of the site clearance, but not restored.

With moneys ‘left over’ from recent Pulhamite Repair Funding from the National Lottery, and a Community Grant from the Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, volunteers Harry, Alan and Colin led a Project to bring Alan Bishop & Associates back on-site to restore the steps to their likely original Pulhamite quality.

To meet the costs of so-doing it was necessary for the volunteers themselves to prepare the site in advance by clearing away rubble, recovering several unused large stones from around the site to create a platform half way down and constructing footings and step risers ready for Alan Bishop’s arrival.

Alan Bishop and Jules then moved in and spent 4x days demonstrating once again their amazing skills in constructing a flight of steps that Pulhams themselves would have been proud of in 1860.

Danesbury Fernery Volunteers steps
Volunteers Danesbury Fernery steps
2018 Work of the volunteers Danesbury Fernery steps
Volunteers at work Danesbury Fernery steps
Danesbury Fernery steps
Alan Bishop & Associates Pulhamising Danesbury Fernery
Volunteers at work
alan bishop & associates, danesbury fernery
Alan Bishop & Associates Pulhamising Danesbury Fernery
Alan Bishop & Associates Pulhamising Danesbury Fernery
Alan Bishop & Associates Pulhamising Danesbury Fernery

Filed Under: News

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Earlier News

The Welwyn Festival – Danesbury Fernery Open

… [Read More...] about The Welwyn Festival – Danesbury Fernery Open

Xmas 2024 – The Volunteers Celebrate

Chair’s Christmas Message December 16th 2024 Happy Christmas … [Read More...] about Xmas 2024 – The Volunteers Celebrate

A Good Time to read a Peaceful Poem by Chloe Cheng

My name’s Chloe and I am a Master’s student studying Creative Writing at … [Read More...] about A Good Time to read a Peaceful Poem by Chloe Cheng

Notable visitors in 2024 – The Folly Fellowship

We were approached in November 2023 by The Folly Fellowship who were following … [Read More...] about Notable visitors in 2024 – The Folly Fellowship

Archives

Follow Us Online

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Archives

  • December 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • September 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • March 2023
  • January 2023
  • November 2022
  • July 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • July 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017

Copyright © 2025 Friends of Danesbury Fernery (FODF). Non attributed photography by John Roper.