Frist Trip to Herefordshire 2025 - Part 2

 

On the Thursday we went for a wander around Burford House Garden Centre.

I adored this dragon which is very similar to the one in the gardens at Burford House but at around £4,500 it was way past my budget!!!!

I spotted my first bumble bee of the year - a Buff-tailed I think - on some hyacinths.  There were a couple of them around and a Hairy -footed Flower bee on pulmonaria.

This dragon was within my budget and I was very tempted to buy it!

We didn't make any purchases in the end but B did see a plinth for his sundial. At the moment it is attached to an upturned square stone large flower pot but the plinth would look much better.  

Burford House - I really must buy a year pass to the gardens this year and visit again.  I so missed going last year.

We stopped off in Tenbury Wells to buy some bird food and a few items from Tesco.

I'd still love to move permanently to this area - the house below is on the market and is affordable. It has super sized rooms but sadly only a tiny courtyard garden to the side and it is a bit too close to the River Teme for my liking bearing in mind the problems Tenbury has with flooding. It was sad to see that the farmshop/greengrocers looked as though it had closed whether due to flooding I am not sure.

We had a quick look at the River Teme in the hope of spotting a Kingfisher but we only managed to see Mallard.

Hellebores in flower in Tesco's car park.

On the Friday we returned to the garden centre to buy the plinth for the sundial.  We didn't go anywhere else because by now it looked as though I was getting cellulitis again.

On the Saturday B gardened and I had a zoom conference all day  given by James Wright, who is a Buildings' Archaelogist, and gives talks on various aspects of historic buildings. I really enjoyed all his talks.  

Sunday we came home.  Hopefully, we will return soon probably with either D and/or E.

(Cellulitis has returned so yet again I am back on pencillin.  I have to go for a blood test next week and have asked my GP to refer me to a specialist as the bouts are becoming so frequent).

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would be grateful for an email first - thanks).

Temple Balsall - Spring Flowers in an Area Steeped in History

D and I went a walk round the beautiful Temple Balsall yesterday. It's one of those places you occasionally come across that has a very special atmosphere and sense of place. The history of the location is palpable as you wander along the paths.


We heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming as we left the car park but, despite intensive searching, we couldn't see the bird anywhere.

Temple House (the Bailiff's House built in 1740)

We walked along the "Breadwalk" to the almshouses. In 1674 Lady Katherine Leveson set up a foundation with the aim of teaching children and caring for the elderly within a Christian community. Three hundred years later the community still thrives.

The Old Hall of the Templars

Old Hall was the Preceptory (or Headquarters) for the Knights Templars in Warwickshire from the 12th century. Temple Balsall was given to the Knights by Roger de Mowbray possibly as early as 1146. Parts of the original Hall are contained within the building you see today. The headquarters oversaw farming activities in the area and it was also a place where new members of the Order were received by The Master of the Temple who would make the journey from London.

The Church of St Mary the Virgin was built around 1320-50. Initially, it was built as the Chapel of the Knights Hospitallers (a religious community)who had taken over the property following the dissolution of the Knights Templars. It didn't become a Parish Church until the 1860's following a restoration by Sir George Gilbert Scott.

The Hospitallers had left by the 1470's and the church slowly became a ruin. Henry VIII gave the Manor of Temple Balsall to his wife Queen Catherine Parr and eventually it came into the hands of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. His grand-daughters Lady Anne Holborne and Lady Katherine Leveson restored the church.

A Green Man!

The churchyard is "managed" for wildlife with a Wildlife Conservation Area. Around 130 species of wild flower have been recorded and Yellow Rattle has been planted to try and curb the growth of coarser glasses and allow wild flowers to flourish. 17 species of butterfly were recorded in 2012 and various nest boxes, including one for owls, have been erected. I was hoping to see my first Brimstone of the year especially as Alder Buckthorn has been planted to provide food plants for the larvae of this butterfly. Sadly, no Brimstones yesterday but I did see a Small Tortoiseshell.

The churchyard was full of Primroses with Lesser Celandines still in flower plus a few Snowdrops and violets are also now starting to flower.

After exploring the churchyard and the pretty cottage garden of Old Hall we continued along the Breadwalk passing over a stream

and then continued along the Solihull Green Man Trail through woodland.

Robins, Jackdaws, Dunnocks, Mallard, Blue and Great Tits were seen and

Lesser Celandine was flowering everywhere - it seems to have been a good year for this species as the hedgerows we drove past on the way were still full of the flowers.

We didn't have time to continue on to the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve which is close by so I missed out on the Butterbur.

We walked back through the Cemetery.

This gravestone for Thomas Truelove was seen in the St Mary's Churchyard (the date of his death has been weathered away) and it was interesting to see a

gravestone to other Truelove's in the Cemetery. We did wander if they were related. You could do a lot of research into family history from the information in graveyards.

Edit Thanks so much to John Scurr from the Stray Rambler Blog who has done some research and found out the following information (see John's comment below). The 1871 Census for Balsall shows Thomas Truelove aged 65 a farmer of 223 acres employing 7 men and 3 boys at Lodge Farm. He would therefore have been born 1805/06. He is still there in 1881 but replaced in 1891 by Thomas Hood Truelove (a 42 year old farmer and coal man) who was not his son but possibly a nephew. If correct Thomas Truelove died in 1884.

We retraced our steps along the Breadwalk.

Wild Arum (or Cuckoo Pint/Lords and Ladies) leaves at the side of the path. (Note for David and Amanda - interesting to find plain green leaves after my comments that I've only seen the spotted ones in Warwickshire!!).

Tea and Cakes is now being served on Sunday afternoons for most of the Summer - we will return!

Several Buff-tailed Bumble Bees were seen on the walk - no chance of a photo as they were whizzing around looking for nest sites but we did spot two Red-tailed Bumble Bees (first of the year) seeking nectar.

For fans of "The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady" by Edith Holden, Temple Balsall was another area she mentioned visiting in her Nature Notes.


I'll finish off with a few photos D took with the Canon Bridge Camera - we were especially pleased with the Dunnock photo and D is having far more success than me with this camera with flower and insect shots!

Reference:

Temple Balsall Churchyard - Butterfly Report 2012

Conservation at Temple Balsall Leaflet

The Church of St Mary the Virgin Temple Balsall - a Visitor's Guide

Temple Balsall 1150 - 1870 - A Short History

The Knights of the Temple and Of St John of Jerusalem and their Connection with Temple Balsall by F R Fairbairn