ChadKirk Chapel Updates
News and updates from the Friends of Chadkirk
Watch this space
By midday the old window is gone and the new frame is being installed. Photo: Artemisia
Once the newly installed East Window is unveiled I will be posting photos of the window here.
Watching the craftsmen at work on Monday and hearing more about their craft added to my delight in the finished work. So while the photos are not available before Sunday, in the meantime I can share a few snippets.
The window is made from handblown glass.
It is made up of over 500 pieces of glass cut by master craftsmen in their Derbyshire workshop.
The coloured centre piece has 170 pieces, 9 beautiful colours in a stunning design.
It took 180+ hours to cut all the glass and assemble the design before transporting it from the workshop in Doveholes to install in the Chapel at Chadkirk.
Went to know more about the stained glass? Talk with Steve Parsonson of Classic Glass Studios at Chadkirk Festival 2013.
The bespoke wooden frame and moulding is hand crafted from specially seasoned oak.
The mouldings around the window echo those in the adjacent timbers in the original beams of ancient oak.
The oak is protected by beeswax sourced from the bees of Chadkirk.
Arnie, the beekeeper, collected the beeswax from our hives in The Walled Garden. He passed it to Austin, the Master Cabinet Maker who made the frame. In a nice bit of serendipity, Arnie is a Master Cabinetmaker (now retired). Both Arnie and Austin can be congratulated on their attention to detail and in making this small yet significant link between garden and chapel, past and present, life and art.
Looking to learn more about the window? Talk with the team of craftsmen on Sunday 28 July. The team will be at the unveiling and then available to chat. They have stalls on the lawn, near to the entrance for the festival site: Austin Neves, Master Cabinet Maker and Steve Parsonson, Stained Glass Artist. Together their teams have produced a beautiful addition to Chadkirk Chapel.
Watch this space.
Chadkirk Festival Sunday 28 July 2013
Attractions and demonstrations to enjoy on Sunday afternoon:
Blessing of St Chad’s Well at 12 noon opens the 17th Chadkirk Festival
Tin’stle Bells – Handbell ringing in Chadkirk Chapel
Willow Weaving – in the Walled Garden
Donkey Sanctuary – Chapel Field
Face Painting – Walled Garden
Stockport Silver Band – Chapel Yard
Water Green Morris Dancers and Musicians – English folk dancing on Lawn
Martial Arts Display – Black Belt Academy, Stockport on Lawn
Flying Demonstration – Birds of Prey, Lawn Area
Amazing Balloon Twisting Show – Lawn
Parking for visitors on Ford Field
Admission: Adults £2, children (5-15 years) £1. Children under 5 years free.
Chadkirk Festival and Well Dressing…this coming Sunday
Sunday 28 July
12 noon – 5pm
Fun for all the family
This Sunday the 17th Chadkirk Festival opens at 12 noon offering it’s usual delightful mix of the traditional and the slightly quirky.
There will be more than 40 stalls.
Some will be showing craftwork and perhaps giving you a chance to try something new. Ever tried Willow Weaving? Lesley Bardsley can show you how at her stall in the Walled Garden. Look out for it next to the Friends of Chadkirk Plant stalls.
Other stalls are staffed by enthusiasts keen to share their passions. Interested in history? Look out for the Mellor Trust and Stockport Heritage Trust stalls by the Lawn. Maybe you like animals? Then you might want to take a look at the animals from the Donkey Sanctuary in the corner of Chapel Field. Or watch the flight of the Birds of Prey. SMJ Falconry will be giving a couple of demonstrations during the afternoon. This year for the first time spider lovers can develop their interests by visiting the stall of the Arachnological Society in the Walled Garden.Love ’em or loathe them, there’ll be plenty to invite your curiosity!
Just want to play? Then there’s face painting and the chance to make your own balloon animal. Look for the face painting stall in The Walled Garden and the Balloon Show by the Lawn, next to the Falconry display. Rachel and Jason Heart are Award winning Balloon Artists, so you’ll want to see what they can do when they give their demonstrations during the afternoon.
No Chadkirk Festival would be complete without the Friends of Chadkirk Cream Tea. Scones with jam, cream and strawberries at £1-50 each. Other refreshments are also available.
Chadkirk Chapel Monday 22 July 2013
Chadkirk Chapel: Work in progress. On Monday 22 July, work on the new stained glass window and preparation for the well dressing. Photo: Artemisia
Both the Well Dressing and the new East Window will be unveiled at the Chadkirk Festival during the afternoon on Sunday 28 July 2013.
East Window Project
By midday the old window is gone and the new frame is being installed. Photo: Artemisia
Preparing the frame for the new stained glass window. Photo: Artemisia
After measuring up, the frame is in places and the panes of glass can be inserted. Photo: Artemisia
At the end of a good day’s work – 6.30 pm and the job is nearly finished. Photo: Artemisia
A-Z of Chadkirk: Bees
For now there are no honey bees in the hives. Instead you will see bumble bees, mason bees and solitary bees feeding on the flowers of the walled garden.
The latest news from the BumbleBee Conservation Trust tells us how bees have fared during the spell of weird weather we have experienced over the last 12 months.
Coldest spring in 50 years!
Following on from the wettest summer in 2012 since records began, bumblebees have been hit again by the slowest start to spring in recent times. Although temperatures were lower than average in both April and May, March was the coldest since 1962. The average temperature of 2.2°C in March was a full 3.3°C below the long term average, according to the Met Office.
This has had a huge effect on bumblebees and their usual life-cycle. During a warm spell in February and the very beginning of March, the first Queens emerged from hibernation. Very soon freezing temperatures left us struggling to see bumblebees again until the weather broke about mid-April! Thankfully bumblebee queens have the ability to re-enter hibernation when conditions change dramatically.
The bumblebee life-cycle could now be between one to two month’s behind depending on location and species. Records for Tree bumblebees started to trickle through to BeeWatch towards the end of May, compared to last year when they were at their peak at this time. Similarly Early bumblebee males should be plentiful now. Although the first record was added to BeeWatch on the 5th of May, further records accumulated slowly. Just in the last week or two, the bumblebee season seems to have finally got underway with lots more records of Tree bees, Early males and new cuckoo queens.
ID Tips from Bumblebee Conservation Trust
As the bumblebee season is finally hotting up, you should start to see more males and even male and female cuckoos if you are lucky!
Males can be distinguished by their longer antennae, thinner hind legs as they don’t possess pollen baskets and general fluffy appearance. Males of four of our common species, very helpfully, also possess extra yellow banding and yellow moustaches! Three of these species are shown below. The Heath bumblebee (Bombus jonellus) is missing.
Cuckoo bumblebees are much stronger and tougher than our social species and use this strength to overpower and often kill the queen in her nest. They are therefore longer, have dark wings, have hairy hind legs as they don’t possess pollen baskets and their fur is much more sparse and scruffy in appearance.
A-Z of Chadkirk: Ancient Woodland
Kirkwood and Little Wood have both been designated as SBIs. They are sites of biological importance. The presence of indicator species such as Dog’s Mercury tell us that this area has been woodland for many centuries. During that time the composition and the structure has changed. For centuries it seems likely that they would have been dominated by oak trees. Place names locally are reminders of that: Oakwood Hall, Oakwood Mill.
In the past, oaks have been felled for timber. Instead of more oaks, beech trees were planted. Why beech trees ? They grow faster and can be cropped earlier. However, while they do support wildlife, the ecosystem can be less diverse than an Oak Woodland. As a result, the management of Kirkwood involves active intervention to increase the possibilities for an extended range of plants and animals.
The current management plan has attracted grants from the Forestry Commission.
Visitors can see evidence of the work being done throughout Kirkwood.
By the walled garden, the felled beech tree is part of a strategy to increase biodiversity.
Overlooking the Walled Garden, a Beech tree has been felled.
The standing stump and the logs around it’s base will provide a microhabitat for a range of plants and animals. Over time the wood will rot. Fungi will germinate and spread contributing to the decomposition and decay. Beetles will make their homes in any crevasses that develop. To give this process a helping hand and accelerate colonisation, cuts have been made into the stump with a chain saw. Starter homes.
Beetles attract birds. They will forage among the stumps for food. Stumps, rotting wood and the beetles, all part of the mix for a woodland rich in wildlife. This woodland ecosystem provides a valuable habitat for birds. Some are resident, others passing through; siskins feed here, blackcaps breed. Mandarin ducks nest high in the branches. Flocks of hirondelles 60 strong swirl above the river feeding.
Late blossom
The Met Office is still doing the calculations.However it seems likely that they’ll soon confirm what many of us know in our bones: it’s been the coolest spring in England since 1961. And the cool and wet May has for some of us meant that we have not been able to enjoy our gardens as much as we might like.
Nevertheless there are some consolations. Few would dispute the beauty of the blossom, now it’s here. The apple trees in the walled garden are a delight, blushing with effervescent blooms. Out in the woods, it may be June but you can still enjoy the carpets of bluebells on the slopes of Kirk Wood.
Perhaps most impressive are the drifts of wild garlic. On a warmish humid afternoon, you can taste the pungent oils as their spicy scent hangs heavy. The woodland floor white and green, radiant in the gentle light filtering through the fresh greens of late spring.
The start of summer…
1st June. The Met Office forecast fine weather with blue skies and sunshine. Despite a cool breeze from the northwest, down at Chadkirk there’s shelter in the Walled Garden and it is a pleasant day to tend the soil.
There’s gentle work for volunteers who care for the garden.
On Saturday, Friends of Chadkirk gave their attention to replanting some of the herb beds. Two of these beds had been planted with box, which became blighted by a virus. On an earlier gardening afternoon affected plants were removed. Re-planting with box is not an option as the virus is present in the soil; instead cuttings of geraniums and geum rivale have been used. They will be quick to get established and provide attractive ground cover as a temporary infill.
In time the box may be replaced with ilex or lonicera. These plants have a similar impact in the garden. They look a lot like box. But they are unaffected by the virus. The volunteers are looking to source plenty of cuttings for the next phase of planting.
In the meantime, Pat will visit daily and water the plants propagated from her garden. By the time of the festival, the new plants will be thriving.
Scarecrow Sunday
Sunday 26th May is Scarecrow Sunday.
It’s a chance for families and friends to get out in the open air and enjoy being in the Walled Garden at Chadkirk. It’s an opportunity to do creative things with straw. And other materials. It’s a chance to make a life size piece of art.
Bring your imagination. Build your own scarecrow.
Perhaps you can enjoy having a bit of a rummage through wardrobes, drawers, cupboards. See what you can find that might inspire a special scarecrow, something unique. Or come along and use the bits and pieces that the Friends of Chadkirk provide. Your scarecrow can be male or female, royalty or celebrity, footballer, nurse, clown, wizard. Get your thinking cap on. Head gear for the scarecrow? wigs? flowing robes or shorts and T-shirt? The Olympic Games of 2012 inspired many of last year’s entries. What will inspire you this year?
The event begins at 11.00 hours in The Walled Garden.
There are two categories of scarecrow. And entry details remain unchanged since last year. Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
In 2012 all entries were rewarded with a small prize.
Among the green
The foliage of the woods is expanding into the full canopy of summer.
Bird song and green leaves.
You’ll maybe hear them, and yet, spotting the birds in the canopy…not so easy.
Can you match sight and sound? Hear the song and know the bird?
Walking through the woods with John, he’ll point in the direction of the song of a blackcap or a chiff chaff. Me? barely a clue. If your bird song recognition is more like mine than John’s then the BBC can give you a few clues. Listen. Tweet of the Day on Radio 4. On the website, photos to go with the sound. Here’s the link. See. Hear.
May 2013
The first day of May. March came in like a lion and went out…like…a polar bear? Arctic adjectives continued to be attached to descriptions of the weather here for the early part of April as well. Today, some welcome sunshine and a little warmth. With the weather pulsing between frosts and freezing winds only a few weeks ago, how might the wildlife of Chadkirk have been affected?
In and around the walled Garden, flowers are later to bloom. Maybe 3 or 4 weeks later than last year?
In the walled garden, a peacock butterfly. Photo: Artemisia
As keen gardeners note these changes, animal watchers see other signs. Birds are nesting. Amphibians make their way to the ponds to spawn. In the first days of May, frogs will have already laid their spawn. Toads visit later. Perhaps they may be emerging from the woods and fields to breed this week.
In previous years, John, the resident Countryside Officer, has rescued many of the toads crossing the road en route to the ponds. He tells of collecting buckets full over a period of 10 days. His services have not been required in the spring of 2012 or 2013. What does this suggest? That the pattern of weather for each of those springs had an adverse effect on Toad populations in the area? Possibly. Last year March was warm and dry.Too dry for toads maybe? This year all those frosty nights and Siberian winds…
Later in the year, if there’s an opportunity to go pond dipping with the Friends of Chadkirk and friends from CAN, we will be curious to see how the populations of these amphibians compare with previous years.
Today there were plenty of butterflies on the wing. And plump queen bees foraging. The woods were busy with birdsong: chiff-chaffs, blackcaps, blue tits, great tits, jackdaws.
The trees of Kirkwood
Taking the flight of steps up into Kirkwood, visitors are able to see a variety of trees and the wildlife they support.
There are oak, beech and sycamore. Some of the sycamore have been topped. This allows light to penetrate to the woodland floor and encourages the growth of a ground layer of plants, providing food and cover for invertebrates. The stumps are left standing as these also play their part in increasing biodiversity.
Look carefully. Can you see the work of the woodpeckers of Kirkwood?
On the left is an area where beech seeds have germinated and grown into small trees. If left, they will grow tall and thin, blocking out the light. The plan for management of the woodland means that they will be thinned. Perhaps 30% will be removed and replaced with saplings of other native trees – silver birch, rowan, oak. Later they will be thinned again. At each stage action taken to allow in light and encourage biodiversity.
Beech re-generation in Kirkwood
To the right of the path, a damp area has been planted with Alder. These young trees have catkins which are attractive to Siskins. As the trees grow, they will provide more food for these migratory birds and perhaps make it easier for visitors to Chadkirk to see them.
Planting for biodiversity: Alder glutinosa
Over the crest of the hill, towards the river, a stand of beech trees shows why this management strategy is helpful. Here below the beech trees there is no undergrowth. This provides much less opportunity for colonisation by wildlife and is vulnerable to soil erosion. In this part of Kirkwood, future work will be undertaken to introduce light by felling 3 fire damaged trees.
All change?
Cuts and/or Re-organisation ? The impact of the double dip can be felt and seen throughout the country.
With £28 million cuts making the headlines, here are some of the ways that these changes might be evident at Chadkirk:
* 18 months ago there were 6 Senior Rangers covering Stockport’s Greenspaces.
Now there are 3.
From April their work will be done by one Countryside Officer.
* The Countryside Officer will be paid approximately £5000 pa less than a Senior Ranger.
* Alan has changed his green sweatshirt for a blue one. He is now employed by SolutionsSK.
He is part of a team of 3. They are based at Etherow and will undertake work in Stockport East. So we will still see him at Chadkirk from time to time.
A team of 3 based in Reddish Vale will take care of Stockport West’s Greenspaces.
* Work within Chadkirk is often contracted out.
The improvements to the path through Kirkwood (from the canal opposite Oakwood Mill to the top of the steps down towards the bridge or gardens ) was undertaken by Utility Landscapes.
* Recent woodland management involving felling of 3 or 4 beech trees was undertaken by ECOS and funded by a WIG – Woodland Initiative Grant.
March
At the March meeting of the Friends of Chadkirk, there was a distinct air of optimism.
Spring was in the air. On Tuesday the temperature had reached 13 C. Visitors to Chadkirk were able to sit in the Walled Garden and enjoy the sunshine. Somehow that warmth and relaxation seemed to affect the mood of the meeting. Or maybe it was some measure of how pleased we all felt with the news of the recent appointment. As is the way at this time of year, change was underway and the possibility of growth is heartening as winter loosens it’s grip.
Recent changes and the prospects of growth featured in many of the items on the agenda of the AGM. There was news of a hedge that was being planted, the installation of the Portrait Bench and woodland management work underway. On the first Saturday of the month, some of the Friends had worked with the Senior Ranger planting a new hedge alongside a wire fence on the Marple side of the river. Gelder Rose, Hawthorn, Dog Rose and Hazel have been planted and John plans to return and do the last 30 metres as soon as he is able. Although the ‘whips’ that went in look more like sticks than a hedge, they will quickly become established and as they grow they will offer a valuable habitat for wildlife.
Can you tell who it is yet?
Countryside Officer in residence … from April 2013
Following the recent interviews, John Rowlands has been offered and accepted the post of Countryside Officer. The 7 days required for appeals has passed so I understand that this information can now be made public. His new role will begin in April. Next time I bump into him down at Chadkirk, I hope to learn more about that role.
However, in the meantime, there’s a sigh of relief crossed with a whoop of celebration. It’s excellent news for Chadkirk, as this means that he will continue to live on site. It’s excellent news for Stockport as the people and green spaces will continue to benefit from his skills, expertise and cheerful good humour. And,last but not least, it’s quite good news for John and his family: he will continue to be able to do the work he loves and he keeps his home at Chadkirk.
There may be a chance to congratulate him personally on Thursday evening when the Friends of Chadkirk meet for their AGM.
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