Garden Wall With Bee Boles At Southwood House Farm

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1259/0/10023 STAUNTON LANE 28-JUN-10 Garden Wall with Bee Boles at Southwoo d House Farm

GV II A set of 11 bee boles, of c1820 for William Woodward of Southwood House Farm, within and around the north-eastern corner of the boundary wall approximately 70m north-east of Southwood House Farm.

MATERIALS The wall itself is built of coursed sandstone blocks with ashlar coping. The bee boles are lined with brick at the sides and have a sandstone base and flat lintel.

PLAN The garden boundary wall is curved at the corner containing the boles. The other corners are square, suggesting the curve is related to the construction of the bee boles and that the wall and boles are contemporary.

EXTERIOR Each bee bole consists of a rectangular recess measuring approximately 40cm high, 43cm wide and 40cm deep, positioned 50cm above the base of the wall.

HISTORY The Southwood estate was left to Robert Burdett in 1773 and later passed to the Calke Abbey estate through an exchange agreement in 1821. The tenant at the time the wall and bee boles were built was William Woodward. A receipt for bricks required to build the bee boles dates them to c1820 and the wall, in its current form, appears on a plan of 1820. The wall containing the bee boles was the southern boundary wall of an orchard, close to a former wildflower garden to the south.

SOURCES Southwood House Farm Vernacular Building Survey by Mary Kerr for National Trust 1989 International Bee Research Association Register of Bee Boles (no.1003) at www.ibra.org.uk. Accessed 23/09/2008 Foster A.M. Bee Boles and Bee Houses 1988

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION The garden wall with bee boles at Southwood House Farm is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

• Date and Historical Interest: the relatively precise dating of bee boles is a rare occurrence and adds important historical interest to this set. * Rarity: eleven bee boles in a set is unusual and considered to be rare. * Group Value: the bee boles are integral to the Southwood House Farm ensemble of buildings.