The Nursery's History
History of Tongswood
The Walled Nursery and St Ronans School is situated in what was once known as Tongswood Estate.
The first records of 'Tongs' was in the hundred rolls of Kent where there is an entry; 'Simon held land in Kent in 1273 - Simon de Tonge'
The place name derived from the fact that two streams of the river Rother flows through the original estate. The old English twang or tang meaning fork of two river streams.
In 1617 the estate of Tongs passed from Simon Dunk to Sir Thomas Dunk, who was a knight and represented a family of great clothiers. When he died he left 6 almshouses and a school to the village of Hawkhurst.
The next person in the history of the estate was George Montague, Second Earl of Halifax, who married Anne Richards who was heiress to the property. She brought to her husband an enormous sum of £110'000! George Montague was obliged to take the name 'Dunk' according to Sir Thomas' will, a fairly small price to pay considering the amount of money concerned!
In 1733 George conveyed Tongs to be leased to Mr Jeremiah Curtis of Rye for 1000 years at the yearly rate of sixpence! He then conveyed his interest to William Jenkin who died in 1784.
Having passed through many families in 1903 Tongs was bought by Mr C E Gunther. High Sheriff of Kent from 1926 to 1927. The estate consisted of about 1200 acres and stretched up to Benenden in a circle taking in Park Farm, Tilden, Great and Little Ninevah, Woodsden, Forest Farm, Diprose, Hinksden, Stevens Farm and Tongswood Home Farm.
History of the Charles Gunther and his walled kitchen garden in Hawkhurst
The Walled Nursery was originally known as 'Tongswood Gardens'. Mr Charles Gunther bought the Tongswood Estate, which included the walled garden in 1904.
Nine men were employed in the two acre walled garden, tending to the thirteen Victorian glasshouses, including vinery, peach house, melon house, fruit house and carnation house.
Mr Gunther was a distinguished business man. Amongst many business interests he was chairman of Liebig's Extract of Meat Company founded by his father, he was also director of OXO which celebrated 100 years of the OXO cube in 2010.
The family split their time between Tongswood, Hawkhurst and 59 Princes Gate in London.
The walled garden produced beautiful flowers, fruit and vegetables, providing ample for the main house, the house in London and even a van of surplus produce for the Hawkhurst Cottage Hospital!
The Head Gardener from 1914 to 1945 was Mr Ernest Hardcastle, who was in charge of the team of gardeners producing many of the things that today get imported into our country.
Mr Hardcastle designed and was in charge of building an acre of spectacular rock gardens for Mr Gunther. Now very overgrown and unrecognisable in the grounds of St Ronans School, there are plans to restore the rock garden to it's original glory.
The walled garden saw two world wars. In the first world war 14 men from the estate, including Mr Gunther's two sons from his first marriage were killed. Mr Gunther died in 1931 at The Paper Mill in Foxhole Lane, Hawkhurst, his shooting lodge. In 1939 the house at Tongswood was taken over by the army. After the war in 1945 the estate was sold to St Ronans School. As for many estates at that time, it was the end of an era.
The renovations of The Walled Nursery
The walled garden continued being used after the Second World War. It was leased out to a succession of market gardeners who were; Jack Cripps, Mr Roland Playfoot, Mr Jim Weeks. The walled gardens were then made into a Plant Nursery by Peter and Karen Horn who having leased the garden for a number of years, purchased the walled garden from St Ronans school in 1995. Peter and Karen changed the name from Tongswood Gardens to The Walled Nursery. In 2010, Monty and Emma Davies purchased the now fully functioning nursery from the Horns and own and run the nursery to date.
In 2000 with a 50% Buildings at risk grant from Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, Peter and Karen Horn began work on a five year renovation project on the listed Victorian Glasshouses. The Glasshouses were built in the mid 1800's by a firm called Foster and Pearson of Nottingham, who were renowned for their horticultural buildings with several commissions for Queen Victoria. In 1904 more glasshouses were added, The Melon House and some cold frames and adjustments were made to the Vinery with The Ferney added and the roofs raised. The walls of the gardens were also raised in 1904.
Peter and Karen saved the glasshouses by stripping each glasshouse back to bare wood, glass removed, repairing wood where needed, re pointing brick work and re glassing with curved glass called 'beaver tails' to direct rain down the centre of the glass instead of onto the wood. Cast iron gutters were repaired and gallons of white paint were used.
The renovation work never ends, these structures are fragile as they are made from wood and glass and the weather wears them down constantly. Monty and Emma are working with English Heritage and Architects who specialise in Victorian Glasshouses to make sure that the Glasshouses are maintained in the correct way. The Walled Nursery is a labour of love!