The Herb Society Garden,
Sulgrave Manor, Banbury, Oxon

The Herb Society is situated inside Sulgrave Manor, a delightful Tudor Manor house that once belonged to the ancestors of George Washington. The garden is in it's infancy as the Herb Society have only been at Sulgrave since 2000, they won a medal for their 'Feast Of Herbs' garden in 2003 at the Chelsea Flower Show, that garden has been recreated within the Herb Society's Garden. Being a member of the Herb Society I was eager to go and visit the garden, my opportunity came on May 11th 2005 when they held a 'Horticultural Herbs Open Day'.

As well as finding stalls full of wonderful herbs and scented plants, I found the gardens delightful, we also had a tour of the manor house which was super. Some lovely tudor furniture and marvelous embroidery. The grounds of Sulgrave have many herbs that would have been used in the Tudor period such as meadowsweet and tansy, which would have been used for strewing on the floor to keep the ticks and fleas at bay. There was a lovely patch of soapwort which is still used today for cleaning delicate tapestries. There was also lots of culinary herbs, such as rosemary, sage and thyme and some wonderfully aromatic lavender called 'Sulgrave'.

The herb garden is divided into sections for a full layout and planting list vist the Herb Society's web site. The first area I visited was the domestic herb bed, here you'll find the usual culinary herbs such as sage, oregano and rosemary. With the addition of Florentine Iris (you can see the leaves at the front of the bed), poppies, rhubarb, bergamot and wormwood. Just behind that bed (directly in front of me sitting in the arbour) is the plants from America bed.
	The photo to the left is of the medicinal herb bed which contains standard herbs such as lavender, sage, thyme and rosemary along with the delights of english mace, heartease and clary sage. The centre of the garden has a circular bed planted up with herbs, unfortunately on the day of my visit some of the herbs had been borrowed to create a "Garden of Herbal Tranquility" for Channel 4's "The Great Garden Challenge", so the photos of that bed are a little sparse and not worth including. There is however a photo of that bed in all it's glory at the beginning of this article used with the kind permission of David Butterworth who is a member of the Herb Society council and took that picture and the last one in this article.
The photo to the right shows a long view from the middle of the gardening pointing up to the arbour behind the culinary herbs bed. In this bed as well as the staple herbs you'd expect to find in a culinary herb bed such as rosemary, sage and thyme. Other herbs such as horehound, hyssop, salad burnet, feverfew, tarragon, horseradish and maiden pinks have been added. At the opposite end of the garden there is another arbour that sits behind a bed of herbs that have come from America.
Christina Stapley delighted audiences with her talks on Culinary and Physick herbs in the Great Kitchen. Christina who has been growing and using herbs for over 35 years, has published several books on the subject, she lectures widely and conducts workshops on all aspects of the cultivation and application of herbs. At Sulgrave she presented her talks in the guise of Lady Anne Blencowe (as seen in the photo above) whose late 17th century ‘Receipt Book’ she has recently edited for modern use. Christina is a lovely lady and we chatted briefly, she posed with a copy of her book 'Herbcraft Naturally' that I purchased from her at the event. A super book full of recipes, things to make and do with herbs and a wealth of information. Other books by Christine include 'Herbwise Naturally' and 'Herb Sufficient' all her books available to purchase via her website.	The Herbs & Horticulture event at the Manor offered a wonderful mix of things to do and see, May Pole dancing, talks by Christine on the uses of herbs, plant sales as well as the sale of herbal goodies from mustards to seeds and handcream.With the addition of the beautiful manor house to visit Sulgrave is definately a place to go if you ever get chance. Below the children of Greatworth Primary School entertained the crowds with their medieval Robin Hood play that they perform at Sulgrave every year. They also exhibited several forms of traditional May Day dancing, encouraging just about everyone to have a go. The children danced around the Maypole like experts, it was a joy to watch and added to the visit for me.

Garden Open Times - April 1st - 30th October: 2.00 - 5.30pm Closed Monday and Friday except bank holidays and special event days. NOTE: Last admissions are one hour before closing times. All visitors on non-event days are taken round the Manor House in regular organised guided tours. Access to the house may be restricted during private wedding ceremonies. Open for pre-booked groups on any day or evening throughout the year (except January).

Admission - Adults £5.75, children £2.50. Sulgrave Manor regularly hold special event days, check their web site for further details, admission charges may be more for these events than standard admission. Herb Society members get into the gardens for free.

Location - Sulgrave Manor is situated in the village of Sulgrave just off the B4525 road from Banbury to Northampton, 7 miles N.E. of Banbury. It is 6 miles N.W. of Brackley and the A43 and 10 miles west of Towcester and the A5. Oxford and Stratford are approximateley 30 miles distant and London via either the M1 (Junction 15a Northampton) or M40 (Junction 11), 70 miles. The nearest railway is Banbury.

Facilities - Manor House, Toilets, Gift Shop, Guided Tours, Parking, Picnic Tables, Tea Room & Wheelchair Access.

Address - Sulgrave Manor, Manor Road, Sulgrave, Nr. Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX17 2SD, Tel 01295 760205