Harvest Home at Victorian Thornham

We are gradually putting back- up material onto our Thornham web site www.thornham.org.uk This is an additional resource for schools to refer to following a trip to Thornham.

Victorian Thornham is a popular course when the children take on the characters of people who lived on the Thornham Estate in Victorian times. They learn what they did for a job, where they lived and even where they are buried in the grave yard at the church.




They visit our Walled Garden and learn something of the work of the gardeners there and particularly about the head gardener of that time John Perkins. He put together elaborate table decorations for the house. These photos are from a book published by John Perkins of his table decorations, the book gives elaborate instructions on the flowers/leaves/fruit to be used. This one is for a "Breakfast or Luncheon Table. This decoration is simple and effective composed of leaves of the Mrs Pollock geranium, which are only just lapped one onto the other; taking care that the leaf stalk is cut completely off."

This table decoration John Perkins said is "very appropriate for the decoration of the first evening's entertainment.......roses are arranged as shown; and single blooms of Scarlet Geraniums are to be placed where indicated on the letters"

There is a contemporary newspaper article on our web site about the Harvest Home at Thornham in 1871. The Harvest Home celebrated the end of the harvest and a hot lunch and the tea in the afternoon was served to 300 people. Following a service of thanksgiving in the church there was a Punch and Judy show for the children and races for the adults such as climbing the greasy pole or donkey races as well as sack races, the prizes varied from a new hat to a new fork.

For more information about the Victorians at Thornham see www.thornham.org.uk click on the teachers' page, then courses for 2009 and then History.

Bats

Our colleagues at Thornham Walks and the Upper Waveney Valley Project held a very popular bat box making event at Thornham on 16th February.

About 35 children came to make bat boxes which most of them took home hopefully to entice bats into their gardens.





Where to site bat boxes

• Site them in a sheltered position as high up as possible on a tree or wall making sure the entrance is clear
• Attach the box securely. If you are fixing your box to a tree, make sure you don't cause damage.
• Once the bat box is in place, don't disturb it. Bats and bat roosts are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
• The occupancy of boxes can be checked by watching at dusk during the summer and looking very carefully for the small black droppings underneath.

How to encourage bats to your garden

• Bats need insects to feed on, so if you have a pond with varied planting, will help encourage insects
• Scented night-time flowers attract moths on which bats may feed
• Pipistralle bats (the most common species in Britain) often hunt in more open country, so gardens with large grassy areas may be more popular
• Noctule bats are often seen near4 hedgerows or in deciduous woodland. If you are close to a wooded area, having a mixed native hedge can concentrate the supply of insects on which a variety of bat species feed.
• Larger species, such as Daubentons bat, often hunt over water so a good sized pond is an advantage.

10th February

Although the snow has just about gone, the heavy rain has meant everywhere is very muddy, the snowdrops growing near the nuttery by the Walled Garden are beautiful and well worth a visit.

The birds are very active on the feeders at Thornham, try to keep your feeders filled up with a variety of food. Black sunflower seeds provide high energy food, niger seeds will attract gold finches, robins, blackbirds and thrushes enjoy meal worms.

If you haven't already done so, this is a good time to clean out your bird boxes, if you don't do this then parasites living in the boxes can infect the new brood of baby birds.

February and more snow....

Sorry for the inactivity of the blog but I have been away, during which time the snow really came down and made Thornham look beautiful. We often see this muntjak deer in the pinetum and Ranger John was fortunate to get this photo.

With half term coming up you might be looking for something for your children to do why not come to the Thornham Walks and Upper Waveney Valley joint Bat Box Building activity on Monday 16th February. No need to book, meet at the main car park at 2.00 p.m. finish at 4.00 p.m. Cost per child is £3.00 if you would like to buy the bat box the cost is £3.00. There is no charge for accompanying adults.