September 2019

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21 Buckden Roundabout
September 2019 Village News
BUCKDEN TOWERS
A WALK AROUND THE GROUNDS
The Kings Tower is one of the most familiar landmarks in Buck-
den and most of us will have visited The Towers at some time,
for the annual Plant Sale or one of the other events held there.
But how many of us are familiar with the raised walk round the
grounds?
Entering by the main gate, the car park is on the left. This used
to be an enclosed barn yard at the time when the Palace of the
Bishops of Lincoln was a busy place with a permanent popula-
tion to be fed and looked after. To the north was the Little
Park. This is now the field where sheep are grazed. In previous
centuries it was probably used for the same purpose or for
keeping deer.
Looking down the field to the left of St Stephen’s Hall there is a
magnificent oak tree in the distance. There is uncertainty
about how old it is. One source states it was planted in 1603. It
has been measured by experts, who found that at a height of
five feet above the ground it has a girth of nineteen feet nine
inches and a maximum branch spread of one hundred and
twenty one feet. This would mean it is about 800 years old.
To start the walk, go to the north west corner of the car park
and you will see a pathway through the trees and bushes. This
path, originally about one mile in length, but now considerably
shorter, was laid by Bishop John Williams some time after
1620. He planted yew trees along the walk, some of which are
still standing. Other yews are self set. Numerous other trees
have grown up over the years.
Approaching the corner, one can see bee hives in Little Park,
near the walk, so if you are allergic to bee stings, take care
here.
As you walk to the north east corner you can enjoy good views
across Little Park to the house and the Kings Tower. But at the
corner you come upon one of the most impressive sights of the
walk – a London Plane tree. Two were planted in 1660, to mark
the restoration of the monarchy. The second is visible across
Little Park, nearer the house.
The tree in the corner here is planted on a raised mound. It
would originally have been a viewing mound for the Bishop to
admire his palace.
Around the corner, is the first view of the lake. Originally there
were 3 small fish ponds and one larger one. These were amal-
gamated into the present single lake. This is now a valuable
wildlife sanctuary, with kingfishers, frogs, newts and dragon-
flies, as well as ducks and moorhens.
Towards the southern end of the walk beside the lake is a
stone statue facing across the lake towards the house. This is a
representation of Jesus by the Sea of Gallilee.
At the southern end of the lake is another viewing mound, now
covered with trees. It is probable that there would have been a
wooden bridge to get from the path to the mound.
Going north again one comes to a nuttery and orchard. These
trees were planted by volunteers who restored the grounds in
the early 1990s. They are planted in quincunxes – a pattern
similar to the 5 on dice. All the trees are varieties which would
have been available and planted in England in the 16th and 17 th
centuries.
Walking through them and approaching the house, there is an
avenue of pleached limes to the north. This is a type of training
of trees that would have been familiar to the Bishops.
Approaching the house one crosses a wide stretch of lawn. In
the 19th century there were formal gardens here, but it is im-
possible now to maintain them.
It is an easy (but difficult for wheelchairs unfortunately) walk in
the heart of our village and if you have half an hour to spare
strolling around it, it will reward you with peace, tranquillity
and simple pleasures.
Black Squirrels Again
Alec MacAndrew, editor of the edition of the Roundabout fea-
turing the article on black squirrels in Buckden, writes: We have
received an unusual quantity of unsolicited feedback, almost
all of it praising the article and the photos that accompanied it.
Almost everyone who commented found the piece enjoyable,
light-hearted yet informative about the black squirrel phenom-
enon, which has received quite a lot of interest in Buckden
recently.
We also received feedback from one reader who was keen to
stress the negative aspect of grey squirrels. Although this was
touched on in the article, this reader stressed the destructive
side of grey squirrels. They are an introduced invasive species.
They damage crops and property (particularly if they get into
roof spaces). They are damaging to some native species of
broadleaf woodland and are a major cause for the demise of
red squirrels in the south of the country through a combination
of resource competition and the effects of a virus which they
carry that is fatal to red squirrels. In law, they are classed as
vermin and can be legally dispatched humanely. The Forestry
Commission along with other bodies are working in partner-
ship to develop methods of controlling the grey squirrel popu-
lation by culling and by developing a contraceptive to limit
their fertility.
Nevertheless, grey (and black) squirrels have been a fact of life
in our gardens, parks and woodland for decades. Many people,
while aware of their invasive and destructive side, find them
attractive animals and enjoy observing them. We are very
grateful to everyone who gave us feedback. We note that we
are not the only media outlet with an interest in black squir-
rels: our colleagues at BBC news have just published an article:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-
49328867