Page 46 - ALG Issue 3 2021

East Midlands
Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland
The New
Richard
Westbrook
Baker
Allotment Site
in Cottesmore
There is some excitement in Cottesmore following the opening of the long-awaited allotment site on March 6th.
During the last year, the site has
been visited by various organisations
to advise on location, soil, possible flooding, water supply, trees, accessible plots, and landscaping. The site now includes 26 x 80m2 plots and 4 x 40m2. Cottesmore Parish Council donated one of the larger plots to St Nicholas Primary School so that the children have their own plot for Forest School. The village residents have got together and donated all sorts of equipment
and plants for them to use including a shed, a hedgehog house, and some bird boxes.
Just prior to opening, representatives of Cottesmore Parish Council planted a small community orchard on the site
including apple, plumb and pear trees. Some allotment holders have expressed a desire to donate further trees for the orchard later this year. Other projects on the site include the provision of a community cabin, a wild meadow flower garden, and a wildlife pond (subject to funding and planning permission).
Cottesmore appears in the history books concerning allotments. Richard Westbrook Baker (1797 – 1861) proposed to set up a system to provide means for poor labourers to support themselves and their families if paid employment was not available. The provision of allotments, pieces of land up to three quarters of an acre in size, for which rent would be paid, was proposed in each village on the Noel’s Rutland estate to be worked with a spade only and under strict rules set out in 1830. Labourers and their families were intended to have sufficient ground
Labourers and their families were intended to have sufficient ground to grow their own
to grow their own wheat for bread, potatoes, and vegetables to provide for their families.
The first plots were established in Cottesmore to the field to the west of the Market Overton Road and consisted of 26 plots.
The events of 2020 have really made people think about the availability of fresh food together with the benefits of outdoor exercise and the benefits of being outside and part of a community. Cottesmore Parish Council is proud to provide Cottesmore residents with this valuable community facility.
Cllr Jan Edwards Photos by Ashley Smart
46 Allotment and Leisure Gardener