Mediaeval estate to community garden: centuries of food production at Gunnersbury

Transformed from farmland into a Palladian estate in the 1660s, Georgian owners transformed Gunnersbury again with a new walled garden, fish pond and hothouses, while the 19th century estate raised livestock and produced spectacular fruits. Its early days as a public park saw land used for rearing sheep while today, after a fabulous regeneration, a dedicated volunteer team cares for an orchard and a community garden

Val Bott is a curator by training and a historian by enthusiasm. She edits the Brentford & Chiswick Local History Journal and runs nurserygardeners.com. A founder member of the Friends of Gunnersbury Park & Museum, Val is co-author of Gunnersbury Park: the Place & the People (Scala Books)