Dorothy Clive Garden to open for an hour of serenity
A garden famed for its beauty and tranquillity will open an hour earlier for people who are vulnerable or shielding.
The Dorothy Clive Garden near Market Drayton covers 12 acres, including an edible woodland, rose walk and seasonal borders.
Staff will open at 9am to offer free entry for a maximum of 10 people who need space and serenity.
Places should be booked by calling 07753 869741 between 10 and 4 pm and visitors should make it clear that they are requesting a slot for the quiet hour.
"We really hope that this is of help to people," said garden curator director Kathryn Robey.
Colonel Harry Clive decided to plant in the garden in 1940 to help his wife Dorothy during her illness.
Sadly, she died two years later, but Colonel Clive continued to develop the space throughout the 1940s and 50s as a place of rest and continued horticultural education for the general public.
In 1958, management of the then fledgling garden was entrusted, by Colonel Clive, to a newly established independent charity The Willoughbridge Garden Trust. This charity still oversees, what is now a much larger and considerably enhanced garden, and employs a small specialist team of staff to manage the site’s affairs, including three full-time gardener
