Community Garden Projects at Kenilworth Castle

English Heritage champions England’s historic environment for the people of today and for future generations. The Outreach Department aims to actively engage people from all backgrounds in sharing their own perspectives of heritage and learning from, enjoying and valuing the historic environment.

Two community projects using the recent garden archaeology as a stimulus for creativity have been run as part of an outreach programme.

Garden Ghosts

This was a partnership project with Kenilworth Youth Centre in which some of the town’s young people worked with a professional film maker to create a film which interprets the garden and recreates the lifestyle of people living at the Castle in Elizabethan times – featuring some ghostly goings on!

Copies of the DVD are available from Suzanne Carter on 0121 625 6870 or suzanne.carter@english-heritage.org.uk

A website was designed and run by the young people as an outcome of our partnership working with Kenilworth Youth Centre.  Visit www.kennieyouthie.co.uk/pages/heritage.htm

(Ad)dressing the Garden

This was a partnership project with Coventry Carers Centre and The Herbert (Art Gallery & Museum). Working with renowned Birmingham jeweller and metal worker Rita Patel, members of the Milan Carers' group created a touring craft exhibition using Kenilworth Castle’s garden design and garden heritage as inspiration. Their design work was influenced by historical records of the Elizabethan garden as well as personal experiences, memories, culture, heritage and their own gardens.

The group of participants visited traditional gardens within the West Midlands including Kenilworth Castle, Baddesley Clinton and Packwood House and took part in a series of workshops, learning new skills and techniques such as metal pressing as well using more traditional craft skills such as embroidery. During the workshops this group of carers also expressed how they felt about caring for someone and this was included in the final artwork.

The final exhibition piece will be on display at Kenilworth Castle in the future.

Watch this space for dates!