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

Danesbury Fernery

Researching and Restoring the Danesbury Victorian Fernery

  • About
  • News
    • Welwyn Festival Open Garden
  • Volunteering
  • 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
  • Garden
    • Design Objectives
  • Location
  • Calendar
  • Support Us
    • Funding
    • Donate
    • Join us
  • Photos
    • Victorian Fernery
      • Excavation – stages
      • Garden Restoration – stages
    • Ferns
    • Wildflowers in Danesbury Fernery – Jenny’s Index
    • Local Nature Reserve
    • Butterflies/Invertebrates
    • Fungi
    • Wild Flowers – Nature Reserve
  • Reports
    • Progress
    • Visits
  • Contact
You are here: Home / News / The Rockwork Repaired

The Rockwork Repaired

15th May 2022 By John Roper 2 Comments

Following the closure of The Fernery and restoration of the rockwork by Alan Bishop & Associates over the past two weeks, (see earlier report on this website) the FODF and the Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council (WHBC) have been very happy to sign off the work, and the Fernery has been re-opened to the general public.

Using the same proprietary techniques employed by James Pulham II in 1859/60 we can all now enjoy the amazing results of Alan Bishop’s restoration of the rockwork which has almost certainly not been touched since being built in situ some 160 years ago, apart from the replacement of some fallen rocks in 2017 during the early stages of the volunteer’s current restoration project.

The photos below give an idea of the state of the rockwork in the grotto/cave before and after restoration. But selective rockwork all around the site has been restored/repaired.

Filed Under: News, Pulhams

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Alan Bishop says

    15th May 2022 at 9:43 pm

    It was a pleasure to have worked with you on this project.

    I have always thought that Danesbury Fernery has a certain charm about it, and I rate it as having one of the best examples of Pulhamite rockwork in terms of its setting, design and impact.

    Well Done for all your hard work on the garden to date. The changes, since my first site visit in 2017 are extraordinary..

    Best
    Alan Bishop
    Alan Bishop & Associates
    http://www.alanbishopassociates.co.uk

    Reply
    • John Roper says

      16th May 2022 at 9:45 am

      It was a great experience having you and your team working at Danesbury over the past few weeks, and we all thank you and wish you well.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

Primary Sidebar

Earlier News

Reflections on the 2022 Open Day

The team worked so hard. Once again we were having an Open Day on Thursday … [Read More...] about Reflections on the 2022 Open Day

The Fernery Open Day Thursday 30th June 2022 – planning is well underway

Sara, our new Chair, has held a Planning meeting and the FODF Committee are all … [Read More...] about The Fernery Open Day Thursday 30th June 2022 – planning is well underway

Notice of Work Parties – Thursday 19th May 2022

Weather Forecast - long range Sunny intervals and a gentle … [Read More...] about Notice of Work Parties – Thursday 19th May 2022

Archives

Follow Us Online

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2022 Friends of Danesbury Fernery (FODF). Non attributed photography by John Roper.