News

An update from Dan Griffin:

Meritxell and I have had a productive session in the garden today. We’ve harvested the onions (which look more like shallots!), the beans (not many!) and one courgette! There are about 50 black cherry tomatoes but they are not quite ripe.

We will leave four punnets of shallots in the shed – please help yourself if you want any. The same with the tomatoes. Just come in over the next few days and see if any look ripe enough for you to take. 

We also swept and bagged (for mulch) lots of leaves. There will be more of this to do in the next autumn sessions. There should also be more beans and eventually lots of Jerusalem artichokes. 

The next three sessions, all Sundays, 2.30-4.30, will be:

September 29th

October 20th

November 10th

We think we should plant out some autumn onions and garlic. The bean frame will also need disassembly.

Community garden

A key part of the role of the Lee Manor Society is to monitor planning applications, and where appropriate tell Lewisham planners if a proposal would be at odds with the character of the Conservation Area.

A new feature of this website will be a summary of the latest planning applications. You can see those covering June to July here.

The Lee Manor Society Autumn Tree Walk will be on Saturday October 5, 2024. The walk will start at 11am at the Lee Green crossroads by the history panel. We will be looking at autumn colour in the wide variety of species in the Burnt Ash Road tree avenue, including our recent plantings, and other local streets. Time permitting, we will walk into Manor House Gardens with its wealth of historic trees, many dating back 250 years to the original planting when today’s public park was the private garden of the Lucas and Baring families. No advance registration needed – all welcome. Just turn up!

September 16th would have been Ralph’s 77th birthday. This is the tribute Charles Batchelor wrote for the most recent Annual Review.

Ralph took over as chairman of the Society in 2015 but had been a long-time supporter before becoming deputy chairman in 2004. Ralph brought an efficiency to the Society’s affairs, handling contentious issues with tact and moderation. Ralph found time for Society matters between globetrotting for his training consultancy serving the international pharmaceutical industry. Ralph led the Society’s involvement in the lengthy discussions
about refurbishment of the Manor House and its library from 2002.
Ralph’s management of our annual Plant Mart turned it into a substantial money-raiser for
the Society while in his spare time he ran the community garden in Micheldever Road and
organised environmental work in the Hither Green railway triangle. Ralph had a close interest in the history of Lee which he shared through talks to the Society and other groups. He also handled discussions with the local Rotary Club, the business support group, that jointly funded the installation of a table and benches in Manor House Gardens.
Ralph enjoyed the support of his family in these endeavours with daughters Sophie and Harriet baking cakes for the Plant Mart and his wife Julia providing delicious snacks after Society meetings at their home in Micheldever Road. Ralph is sadly missed.