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Welcome
to the Benedictine Herb Garden! Teacher Pages New Herb Garden History of the Monastic Herb Garden Herb Workshops for Schools The New Herb Garden Norwich Cathedral's herb garden finds a permanent home Plans for new garden site are underway; accessible garden to be a 'green lung' in the heart of the city Work is in progress on a brand new herb garden being created for all to enjoy, in the grounds of Emmaus House, at No 65 The Close. A team have been at work since last autumn to create a permanent new home for Norwich Cathedral's Herb Garden; a team of eager volunteers are working together with an environmental task force of young people from Pelcombe Training. Finding a new space means that the herb garden will be open and accessible; the aim is to create a new, accessible 'green lung' in the heart of the city, for all to come and enjoy. An anonymous donor has funded materials to create the new garden. Norwich Cathedral Community Outreach Officer, Charlotte Scott, asked Pelcombe Training to provide a team of local young people to help with the work creating the new garden. Pelcombe Training work with unemployed young people, giving them opportunities to gain valuable work experience through working on environmental projects in the community. This team will be working alongside the Cathedral works department, gaining new skills as they learn how to lay out paving for the garden. Garden design and layout The new garden has been professionally designed by Lis McLoughlin R.I.B.A. It will have a front entrance from No. 62 The Close (Emmaus House), and a rear entrance opposite the new refectory building. The garden will include a small area for quiet meditation and prayer; there will be also be a teaching area for school groups who visit the garden for the Herb Garden Workshop, offered by the Education Department as one of a variety of activities that enables visiting schoolchildren to learn about the Cathedral. Beds will grow culinary, medicinal and strewing herbs, matching those grown and used by the Benedictine monks at Norwich Cathedral in the Middle Ages. The Garden will also feature elements of a traditional 'physic' garden. The unique Norwich Cathedral Roof Bosses are to be celebrated in the design; Lis McLoughlin has incorporated the distinctive 'lierne' vaulting pattern in the Cathedral nave roof as the basis for a small knot garden. Work is ongoing, but it is hoped the garden will be ready to open to the public later in the year - watch this space for details! About Pelcombe Training The team from Pelcombe will be working alongside the Cathedral works department, gaining new skills as they learn how to lay out paving for the garden. They have also been working to prepare herb beds in an allotment space, generously provided for the project by Abbeyfields in the Close. The new garden will have a front entrance from the Close, and a rear
entrance opposite the new refectory. It will include a small area where
people may sit in quiet meditation, and a teaching area, as well as the
beds growing culinary, medicinal and strewing herbs which as near as possible
will be matched to those grown and used by the monks at Norwich Cathedral
during medieval times. Although the original garden was strictly Benedictine
in concept, the new one will also feature plants historically important
to Norwich, and the elements of a traditional 'physic' garden. There will
also be a small 'knot' garden incorporated in the design. The new space
has been professionally designed by Lis McLoughlin R.I.B.A . Monasteries had spaces for contemplation, relaxation, recuperation, and inspiration. Every Benedictine monastery across Europe would have had a series of gardens, both in the precincts and beyond, in which essential plants and vegetables were grown to provide for the daily needs of the monks and the local community. St Benedict of Nursia stipulated as part of his Rule, that travellers and sick people must be cared for. God was believed to be the only true doctor, but the infirmarer had the skills to use plants as well as prayer to alleviate all kinds of common ailments. Plants were cultivated for medicinal use, for brewing, dyeing, and strewing on the floor of the cathedral, as well as for the kitchen - to give flavour to the rather bland diet. Most non-indigenous plants came from Arab, Greek or Roman sources, and were distributed across Europe via the medical school at Salerno, Sicily. There is documentary evidence of correspondence about herbs among 7th and 8th century monks. Mediterranean plants would have been more expensive and harder to obtain than locally available substitutes, so Macer and Hildegarde made use of Northern European plants. Their writings, which were more suitable for local use, were circulated among British monasteries. Lavishly illustrated Herbals were works of art rather than of practical use, and were confined to monastic libraries. They were copied from antique manuscripts and scribes sometimes miscopied and misspelt names. Despite this, medical knowledge was kept alive during the Dark Ages in the monasteries. The plants in this garden have been chosen to represent various categories of herbs. We have tried to include plants closest to older species where possible. Please correct us if we have made any mistakes. Inevitably there will be some natural changes in their position in the garden, and we have had to use some 'gardener's licence'! We hope you will greatly enjoy touching and smelling the plants in Norwich Cathedral's temporary Benedictine herb garden, and that you will feel encouraged to delve deeper into this fascinating subject. Herb Workshops for Schools These fascinating workshops take place in the beautiful and tranquil setting of our herb garden. Pupils learn to identify the herbs and discover their medicinal properties. A practical session follows, where the children can make infusions, ointments, pillow sachets, poultices and tea, just as the monks did here in medieval times. This is an exciting workshop in a truly wonderful location. Herb workshops run on Mondays and Tuesdays from March until October. A charge of £2 is made per pupil, and group sizes are limited to a maximum of 20. Please contact the Education Officer to make a booking. Top A detailed description of the trails, tours, and activity sessions on offer to schools A comprehensive list of educational resources Information on booking a school visit to Norwich Cathedral Information on visit practicalities |
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