Tea, Tours and Traditional Skills: Poulton Hall Open Gardens 2025

Looking through the meadow towards Poulton Hall

The Lancelyn-Greens hosted an open garden event at Poulton Hall Walled Garden and parkland as a fundraiser for Wirral Wildlife and New Ferry Butterfly Park. Poulton Hall lies secluded by woods just above the 'Dibbinsdale Dip' on Poulton Road which connects Spital Crossroads and Bromborough. Many people pass the hall in their cars, but few get a chance to visit -  however when they do, they are delighted to find such an enchanting area on their doorstep.

Meadow Tour at Poulton Hall Gardens

Celebrating National Meadows Day, the first Saturday of July, Dr Hilary Ash gave two meadow tours with the first one having the largest number of participants to date. The tour was a great chance to celebrate meadows and increase awareness about the vital role meadows play in supporting biodiversity, providing habitats for wildlife and enhancing the landscape. Hilary is a keen grass champion and is good at encouraging others to gain an interest in the 12 different grass species present. As well as the interesting flora there were a respectable number of meadow brown butterflies fluttering around the meadow. Marsh Orchids were popular, and there was a good population of Yellow Rattle, which weakens the grasses and allows more wildflowers to thrive.

The Wirral Countryside Volunteers area with a woven hurdle demonstration

Wirral Countryside Volunteers (WCV), who were set up in the parkland under the shade of the large oak, had a mock-up hedge to have a go at hedge laying. This gained a few participants and acted as a window shop for WCV, as a Willaston landowner was interested in getting the WCV to lay his hedge. The WCV will follow up and investigate this lead. There were tool sharpening demonstrations where most the of tool edges were so highly polished, they were like mirrors. Also a newspaper pot making and seed sowing seed activity. There was a display about the coppicing the volunteers conduct in Thornton Wood which is part of the Poulton Hall Estate. New this year was 'have a go at making a woven hurdle'. This hurdle was a small one, but the WCV realised a miniature one would be an even better activity for youngsters. It could be put on a table, would be easily to complete and make a take-home souvenir of the day.

The mock hedge

There was a taster archery session laid on by Wirral Archers; their coaches were good and coached complete novices until they could shoot arrows to hit the golden area in the centre of the target. Butterfly related crafts for children raised awareness of New Ferry Butterfly Park and Wirral Wildlife. It was possible to learn about honeybees, local archaeology, buy some plants sold to support the Samaritans, listen to stories, be greeted by a witch and just enjoy the main feature, the enchanting gardens followed by a cream tea. It is very much a personal and family garden - charming, quirky, full of humour and literary associations. It is a memorial to Roger Lancelyn-Green, the biographer and writer of children’s fiction.

Anyone for a cream tea?

Two volunteers were going round with a tea pot to bring tea and cake for the volunteers on stalls and parking duties, but guests hailed us for a top up of tea - not really our job, but as we had the means to hand, we were happy to oblige!

Thanks to Caroline and Scirard Lancelyn-Green, the Poulton Hall Estate Team and the twenty-two volunteers who supported this event on the day, those who worked behind the scenes transporting gazebos and woody materials, baking cakes for the volunteers and those who came tidying up on the Monday.


Paul Loughnane

(Photographs by Paul Loughnane and Ben Hart)

30 Years a Wild Flower Grassland

Marsh orchids at Poulton Hall wild flower grassland.
Photo: Paul Loughnane 

Celebrating National Meadow Day, the first Saturday in July, the Lancelyn Green family and Wirral Wildlife hosted a cream tea and open garden event afternoon at Poulton Hall, Poulton Lancelyn, Bebington.

At 10.30am the cream tea making and gazebo transport teams arrived. Gazebos were put up and secured by weights and 140 cream teas prepared. At 1pm stall holders arrived to set up a butterfly craft activity, Wirral Wildlife display, Samaritans plant sale and a beehive demonstration stall. At 1.30 pm the entrance and car parking teams arrived. Crowds gathered at the entrance over the ha-ha for the 2pm opening. The draw bridge was lowered over the ha-ha and visitors entered the enchanting world of the walled garden greeted by a friendly witch. There were musicians, roving archers and story tellers.

The Cream Tea Team. Photo: John Bateman

The Walled Gardens, which include an Oriental, a Classical, a Nursery Rhyme and a Witch’s Garden, have interesting artworks inspired by the literary works of Roger Lancelyn Green, his friends and associates: Robin Hood and Excalibur from his Robin Hood and King Arthur retellings, an Ent from J.R.R, Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and a Jabberwock from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass. The Parkland has a wildflower meadow surrounded by a nine-species laid hedge, each species with at least one tree allowed to grow. Mown paths enable walkers and runners to immerse themselves in it.

Dr Hilary Ash gave two tours of the wildflower grassland outside the ha-ha. The area was used for growing potatoes until 1993. Since then, it has been mown annually in late August or early September, with occasional aftermath grazing. The grassland’s fertility has gradually reduced and the grass sward height and density lowered. Grasses have become finer which has allowed space for marsh orchids to get in and for plants such as meadow buttercup, common sorrel, ribwort, and hairy tare to colonise the grassland. Yellow rattle could be rattled and seeds scattered and there were many meadow brown butterflies on the wing. This area is looking like a classic Cheshire meadow. The marsh orchids and their hybrids were particularly numerous this year. Much patience is required to make a wildflower meadow and this one has been 30 years in the making.

On the second tour Caroline Lancelyn Green, our hostess, joined the tour and expanded on how the hedgerow came about. Two of the far copses were occupied by badgers, one a sett and the other a latrine. The family loved badger watching and wanted to connect the copses up. Further to this there was an old painting in the hall looking over the copses which showed a previous hedge linking them together. In 1993 planting of the hedgerow started, a few sections at a time over the next few winters. Hedgerow shrubs were chosen for coloured flowers, fruits and winter coverage, with a total of nine species, one species for each century the family have lived here.

Tool sharpening at the Wirral Countryside Volunteers stall. Photo: John Bateman

Wirral Countryside Volunteers held a mock ‘come and have a go’ hedge demonstration, tool sharpening, scything, and making a newspaper pot for taking cutting of plants such as rosemary. Three pots completed and then you could take them home in your very own plant incubator, a reused pipette tip holder box. One of the Wirral Countryside Volunteers, Jane, came and helped serve the cream teas and whist she was doing this had her billhook sharpened at the Wirral Countryside Volunteer stall. Jane was very pleased with this. Poulton Hall head gardener, Irene, got her billhook sharpened too and was equally delighted.

A new and interesting stall this year was Wirral Archaeology, a group of well informed and enthusiastic volunteers who research into the battle of Brunanburh in 937AD which is thought to have occurred nearby. This is when an alliance of Dublin Vikings, Scots and Britons came from the north of the peninsular and were defeated by Anglo-Saxon forces as they entered into the Anglo-Saxon part of Wirral. They had many interesting finds, all found within three miles of Poulton Hall, ancient coins, dice, a crotal bell that still worked after several centuries in the ground and Irish arrow heads from pre 950AD. They had excellent enlarged photographs of these artefacts so that you could really appreciate them and volunteers to explain their significance and bring them alive to you.

The day is a wonderful team effort requiring various roles, including being a witch at the entrance to the walled garden! Thank you to the 24 volunteers who made this event possible. This is the third time Wirral Wildlife have held this type of event and it is running along more smoothly each time it is hosted. Thanks also to Roger and Lynn for serving the cream teas, and Scirard, Caroline and Arthur Lancelyn Green and the hall staff for all their support to make it a successful day.