Leading commercial nursery Johnsons of Whixley has teamed up with long-standing client Ashlea Ltd to beautify the grounds of Lancaster Castle, following multimillion-pound conservation works.
The scheme has seen 5,000 sq ft restored to provide a new courtyard, café, gallery space, teaching suite and ticket office.
The building dates back to the 11th century and has a varied history, having been used as a defensive fortress, a royal castle, a crown court, a civil court and even a prison.
The medieval castle forms part of the Duchy of Lancaster, a royal inheritance that began 750 years ago. The castle itself has had many royal visitors over the years including King John, Robert the Bruce, Bonnie Prince Charlie, Queen Victoria and, in 2015, the Queen, who is the current Duke of Lancaster.
In the last 100 years, the castle has been used by the county council to train police officers. It was a prison office from 1954 until 2011 before it was decommissioned by the Ministry of Justice and returned to the Duchy of Lancaster. Since then, the focus has been to preserve and restore the historic site and to open the castle to the public.
Over the last seven years, the duchy team has worked closely with heritage architects, archaeological specialists and structural engineers to complete this project.
Ashlea Ltd’s groundworks for the project included soiling to the new planters, tree pit construction, drainage and laying of artificial grass and trees, as well as planting hundreds of shrubs and herbaceous plants, provided by Johnsons of Whixley.
Johnsons’ plant supply comprised of hundreds of shrubs and herbaceous plants with varieties such as Buxus ‘suffruiticosa’, Euonymus fortunei, Hebe rakaiensis, Helleborous Anna’s Red’ and Heuchera Ruby Bells included in the project.
The supply also included four large Carpinus betulus ‘Frans Fontaine’ trees with a girth of 30-35ins, in 100L pots.
Ashlea Ltd’s contracts director, Wayne Dand, said: “We are delighted, as are the clients, with the outcome of the scheme, especially the excellent standard of trees and shrubs. Logistically the project was complicated to deliver, due to restricted access through the castles main gate.”
Ellie Richardson, Johnsons of Whixley’s marketing manager, added: “It was great to team up with Ashlea Ltd to help beautify the grounds of this medieval castle that has a fascinating history and a bright future ahead of it after its recent restoration projects.”
