IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Linen Street, WARWICK, CV34 4EE

A cloche is a small enclosure, like a miniature greenhouse, that protects sensitive plants from frost, wind and pests, keeping them warm and lengthening the growing season. https://www.gardenersworld.com/product-guides/growing/best-garden-cloches/ Modern cloches are typically made of plastic materials, but early examples were made of glass in the shape of a bell ('cloche' is French for bell). At the back of this plot can be seen one of the ten summerhouses surviving from the Victorian town gardens. Hill Close Gardens remain in use by local gardeners, but are open to the public, with a visitor centre. https://hillclosegardens.com/

This was the home and yard of Francis Smith of Warwick, a master mason operating in the 17/18th century, who helped rebuild Warwick after a major fire and went on to build several country houses in the Midlands. The building is now offices and surrounded by new housing.

A residential street near the town centre with the race course at the other end.

One of the well tended plots in the gardens. Hill Close Gardens was developed from a field in 1845 and by the mid-1860s had become 32 plots as gardens for those infill houses in the centre of town built without a garden. 13 plots were lost to development over the years. Most of the site was acquired by Warwick District Council and restoration took place in 1999. Now, complete with a visitor centre the gardens are run by a charity. The gardens are on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens, grade II*, and there is much history and detail at: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1001285 A market town and county town of Warwickshire, Warwick lies on the River Avon, 11 miles (18 kilometres) south of Coventry. There is evidence of unbroken habitation from the 6th century AD with signs of Neolithic and Roman activity before that date. It was a Saxon burh in the 9th century and Warwick Castle was built during the Norman Conquest. Much of the town was destroyed in The Great Fire of Warwick in 1694. Warwick Racecourse is located just west of the town centre. The Grand Union Canal passes through the town and the restored Saltisford Canal Arm is close to the town centre.

A late 19th century heritage apple variety, believed to have originated in Australia or New Zealand, and named after the German 'Iron Chancellor'. It is a culinary or cooking apple. http://www.nationalfruitcollection.org.uk/full2.php?id=570&&fruit=apple Hill Close Gardens preserve many old pear and apple cultivars which are at risk of falling out of cultivation or even of becoming extinct, often owing to changes in fashion rather than shortcomings in the plants and fruits themselves. Maintaining genetic diversity is an important task of heritage gardens. https://hillclosegardens.com/plants/flowers-fruit-and-vegetables/

Looking at the Rose and Crown.

Hill Close was pasture land on the western side of Warwick, which from 1845 was divided into garden plots, which were rented by Warwick tradesmen. Freeholds of plots were later sold to tenants. Gardeners cultivated fruit and vegetables, kept pigs and poultry and built summerhouses for storage and relaxation. Parts of the site were sold for housing in the early 20th century, but sixteen plots and ten summerhouses have survived, plus two more neighbouring plots that are not managed by Hill Close Gardens. https://hillclosegardens.com/place/the-story-of-hill-close-gardens/

This row of houses is hidden away down a short, unadopted road off Warwick town centre.

Forcing pots on a town garden, including an imposing iron model with a vent. Such pots, more commonly made of pottery, are traditionally used to grow rhubarb in the spring. They produce stalks that are paler, softer and sweeter than those that have been exposed to light. https://www.theenglishgarden.co.uk/expert-advice/how-to-force-rhubarb/ Rhubarb was a popular garden and allotment crop in the days before year-round availability of fruit in shops. Though a stalk, like celery, its sweetness and acidity are fruit-like attributes, and it is available in spring when trees and bushes are not yet fruiting and last year's crop has been used up.