Main Building Garden

The main building garden and lawn are the jewel in the crown of Deans Court's outdoor spaces. From casual picnics and study groups, to garden parties with croquet and the highly anticipated Crichton Cup, all the way to wedding receptions, there is no denying the beauty and versatility of this garden.

Of course, with such a beautiful space accessible to the public, as it currently is, the residents have to share this space with curious tourists, canny locals, and those students who roam the eastern end of town.

The garden is not only used by residents and those lucky enough to find it, however. It also is home to a great variety of British birds, the occasional rabbit from the sand dunes on East Sands, and of course, Horace the Hedgehog.

Photograph taken in 2018, kindly provided by Josephine Tomkins.

The Tool Shed

Older residents may remember an old tool shed that used to occupy the rear right corner of the main building garden. This formed a quaint feature, adding rustic charm to the garden, although in 2017 it was not accessible.

In 2018, this unfortunately had to be removed for safety reasons, but since 2019 there have been attempts and plans to source a new greenhouse or potting shed for the location, with the help of the Transition team. The garden forks and spade from the shed were also rescued, and have been put to good use in the vegetable garden.

Of great concern when the shed was pulled down, was the fact that it had previously been a winter hibernation spot for Horace, the current resident hedgehog. To help combat the loss of this location, two hedgehog houses were bought and placed in suitable locations amongst the shrubbery in the garden. It was with great relief that residents saw Horace still making the rounds of the garden in the twilight all the way into 2019.

Bee Boles

The word bole is actually Scots in origin, and refers to a recess or cavity in a wall. In the 1800s having bee boles was a common method of bee-keeping in Britain, as the beehives, or skeps, used at the time were made from woven wicker or straw, and required shelter from the elements.

The rear wall, or rose wall, of the main building garden has a number of these alcoves, which are easiest to see before the roses come into flower. It is not unsurprising that the boles are present in the garden walls, given the time of their use and the buildings' connections with the church. The position of the boles in an easterly facing wall bears out the thought that they would have been functional rather than ornamental, as such a direction allowed the bees to be warmed by the morning sun.

As of 2020, Sadbh Kellett, the current Environment Representative, is engaging with Transition to see if the boles can become working once more.