ISSUE 2
APRIL 2011
The Holkham Gazette
The Beach Café – Looking Good!
One of Drinkall Dean’s concepts for the interior of the café
Under the skillful and discerning eye of London-based creative design
consultants Drinkall Dean, the Beach Café on Beach Road in Wells has been
transformed into a fresh and exciting place to eat, drink and shop. The whole
building has received a facelift, both inside and out and a new interior design
has been implemented which divides the large building into two eating areas,
plus a vibrant retail space.
Decking has been laid to the front of the café so that in good weather people
can sit outside. The whole building has been painted throughout in lovely,
seaside colours reminiscent of New England, sunshine and sticks of rock! There
is a window for the sale of ice creams, plus hot and cold food areas inside selling
delicious snacks and light meals.
Manager Jo Tennant wants the Beach Café to be more than just a place for
holidaymakers. She’s keen to encourage locals to use it too and wants to
promote the café as ideal for children’s parties, or as a meeting space for local
groups or businesses to hold get-togethers. In the winter, a wood-burning
stove will add to the cosy ambience.
See the
As well as being a place to buy food and drink, there is a large area
Beach Ca
which will be given over to the new and exciting selection of
fé
voucher o
souvenirs, gifts and beach items. Retail consultants Sale & Co
n
have been working at Holkham for the last six months to bring
the back
together a tempting and eclectic blend of souvenirs and a range of
pa g e !
gifts made exclusively for Holkham by local Norfolk producers for
sale in the Holkham gift shop and also here in the café. The items
available in the Beach Café will be fun and quirky – ranging from Holkham
key rings, beautiful postcards and Holkham rock to buckets, spades and other
things you might need for a day on the beach.
If You Go Down To The Woods...
Made In Norfolk
Over the winter, the retail range in the Gift Shop at Holkham has undergone
a review, to tie in with the reopening of the hall for the 2011 season. Retail
consultants Sale & Co, assisted by Viscountess Coke and Johanna Tennant,
have sought out beautiful, fun and exciting new items that have been made in
Norfolk.
They have visited and bought from many small artisan businesses who produce exclusive items in small quantities. Many of
the items have been sensibly priced so that
everyone who visits Holkham has an opportunity to take away a memento of their visit or
buy a present for a friend or relative.
And what a range it is – jewellery, handmade
soap, handmade chocolate, local honey,
ceramics, keyrings, local sweets and rock,
scarves, bags, hats, postcards, notecards and
even dog biscuits made from game from the
estate. None of the new range is mass-produced, all of it is fun, beautiful and in many
cases exclusive to Holkham and, as Fiona
Sale of Sale & Co proudly says “Lady Coke
has seen and tested every item and has
given everything her full support.”
Beautiful insect hotels made by Mark Bradley, available from the Gift Shop
In partnership with Natural England, Holkham Estate is holding a Litter Pick
to spruce up the pinewoods for all the people who’ll use them over the summer.
It will be held on 16th April between 10am and 1pm and it’s a chance for you
to get involved. We’d love to see volunteers joining Holkham and Natural
England staff on the day to pick up as much unsightly rubbish as we can. If
you’d like to lend a hand, please register by emailing [email protected]
before Wednesday 13th April to let us know that you’re coming as numbers
will be limited to 50. We’re happy to reward you for your work at
the end – there’ll be a lunch of soup and a sandwich at the Beach
Café for everyone who registers with us and comes to help. There will
be free parking at Lady Anne’s Drive for all volunteers and a shuttle
service to take you back to your car when we’ve finished.We are
lucky to have the beauty of the beach and the pinewoods to enjoy.
Litter is not only unattractive but can be dangerous for everyone –
people and wildlife. Let’s get it cleared up – register now!
www.holkham.co.uk
APRIL 2011
Spring At Holkham National
Nature Reserve
Running On High Energy!
Photo of little tern by Andrew Bloomfield
BY VICTORIA FRANCIS, RESERVE MANAGER, NATURAL ENGLAND
There is a lot happening this spring on the beach, pines, dunes and grassland
that comprise the National Nature Reserve (NNR).
Look out for the stunning aerobatic displays of lapwing on the grazing
marshes. From a distance this pigeon-sized wader appears black above and
white below, but look closer and you’ll see the upperparts are iridescent green
and purple. With nearly 200 territories within the NNR, they should be easy to
spot. Also putting on a stunning display at this time of the year are marsh
harriers. These large birds of prey can regularly be seen from the hide to the
west of Lady Anne’s Drive. The hide offers great views of Holkham park and
the monument and you may also see the herd of Holkham cattle that help to
keep the grass in a suitable condition for the nesting birds.
The beach has its share of wildlife too. Areas of sand and shingle provide
perfect nesting spots for oystercatchers, with their black and white plumage
and striking red beaks. Ringed plovers – small dumpy waders – are not quite so
easy to see with their brown upperparts. These birds lay very well-camouflaged
eggs in depressions in the sand and shingle.
Little terns come all the way from Africa to nest on beaches in the UK and a
good number choose to spend the summer here at Holkham. Please help share
the beach with the birds by giving them the space they need and respecting the
fenced areas that are vital to their breeding success. If you are visiting with
your dog please keep it under close control around the breeding birds.
Natural England, which manages the NNR, will be running a programme of
events throughout the year which are advertised on both the Natural England
and Holkham websites and on the notice boards around the NNR. Why not
explore the sand dunes, spot migrating birds, find out what lives in the
reedbeds or see if there is a Gruffalo living in the pinewoods this spring?
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BY SARA PHILLIPS
Welcome to the second issue of
the Holkham Gazette, published
to coincide with the opening of
Holkham Hall and park for the
new season on 1st April.
We’d love to know what you
think of the Gazette. Do you like
the new format? How could it be
improved? What subjects would
make the Gazette relevant to
you? We’ve already had feedback
from some of our readers, but
we’d love to hear more. It’s a
well-known saying that you can’t
please all of the people all of the
time, but you can please some of
the people some of the time, and I
hope we’ve managed to do that.
There will be things you like
about the new Gazette, as well as
things you’re not too sure of.
Please let me know by emailing
[email protected].
On Thursday 7th April students from Norfolk
will link up with their counterparts in
Germany and France to raise money for
climate projects at home and in Africa.
Taking place here on the estate, the Climate
Run is the first of its kind in the UK. The 5km
run is for students aged 14 and over from
schools and colleges throughout Norfolk who
will be joined by runners from Kenya as well as
representatives from Germany and France.
After completing the run, participants have free access
to the Future’s Village, which aims to bring the best of our
county’s energy companies together to interact with the young people and
inspire them towards career opportunities in the region’s expanding energy
sector.
Half of the funds raised from The Climate Run will go directly into ecoprojects at each participant’s school. The remaining 50% of the money raised
will be donated to the Jericho Project in Kenya – a country deeply affected
by drought caused by climate change. Many Norfolk students have already
embarked on a project to support children in primary schools in a deprived
area of Nairobi and this money will go directly towards improving the facilities at three primary schools within Jericho. A contingent of students from
Norfolk will be travelling to Kenya this summer to work alongside the local
community, carrying out practical and educational work.
The Climate Run has been brought to the UK and is being organised by
The Mason Trust, a not-for-profit registered charity aimed at helping people
aged between 12 and 25 in Norfolk and Suffolk to reach their potential.
Adnams Collector Card With Your Gazette
With your copy of the Gazette is an Adnams Collector Card.
Adnams would like to show their appreciation to local people
who dine at The Victoria at Holkham and The Globe in
Wells. The card is an excellent way of earning rewards –
collect stamps each time you dine at either restaurant
and you’ll be rewarded with treats such as
complimentary fizz, or even a free stay.
American Connections
In February of this year, Lord and Lady Leicester visited the USA, during which time
Lord Leicester was invited to speak to an audience of influential people in Richmond, the
capital of the state of Virginia.
Lord Leicester spoke on the building of Holkham in the 18th century, its history since then and the day-to-day aspects
of running a big estate in the modern world. The audience of nearly 100 people was particularly interested in the many
American connections enjoyed by his family, including the exchange of letters between Benjamin Franklin, Postmaster
General of Pennsylvania and one of the signatories to the Declaration of Independence and Thomas Coke, builder of
Holkham Hall who was the first holder of the post of Postmaster General in England.
It was particularly interesting that several of the audience had visited Holkham in the past and hopefully, we may see a
few more in the future.
Conservation In Action With NADFAS
Every Thursday during the season there is an opportunity for visitors to the hall
to see a group of local volunteers working on a conservation project. The ladies
from the Glaven Valley and King’s Lynn branches of the National Association
of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies (NADFAS) have a workshop set up in
the North State Sitting Room where they can be seen at work.
Under the expert tuition of Rachel Langley, senior textile conservator at
Blickling Hall’s conservation studio, this skilled team are currently working on
the valance, counterpane and footboard of the bed in the Brown State
Bedroom, the room next door to the North State Sitting Room. To date they
have repaired the damaged silk damask wallcovering in the Brown State
Bedroom, a Louis XIV armchair and a small tapestry fire screen.
In 2004 the same team assisted Holkham with a two year project to restore
the 17th century silk and silver bedcover and the chairs from the Green State
Bedroom.
The picture shows Jane Faire and Sheila Taylor at work on the counterpane of the bed in the
Brown State Bedroom
APRIL 2011
Wives And Daughters Exhibition
Jane Digby (1807 - 1881) was the
granddaughter of Coke of Norfolk,
1st Earl of Leicester (2nd creation).
She lived an extraordinary life full of
romantic adventure and had four
husbands and many lovers! Find out
more about her life at our exhibition.
Our exhibition for 2011 in the state
rooms of the hall centres around the
lives and personalities of the wives and
daughters of the Coke family. We trace
back through the generations of the
Earls of Leicester and report on the
women who have helped shape
Holkham’s history.
Archival footage, photographs and
press cuttings and a display of personal
wedding and evening dresses have
been brought together to tell a
fascinating tale. Visitors will have a
unique opportunity to learn more
about the family that has lived here for
almost 300 years.
The exhibition can be viewed when
the hall is open from 1st April until
31st October on Sundays, Mondays
and Thursdays from 12noon to 4pm.
All The Fun Of The
Country Fair!
Keep the 16th and 17th July free – the Country
Fair is coming to Holkham. Marching bands,
gundogs, birds of prey, a motorcycle display
team and much more will be on show in the
main ring and there’ll be over 200 trade stands
offering everything from country clothing and
delicious food and drink to garden furniture
and a whole range of individual crafts.
Holkham Hall will be open on both days for
Country Fair visitors at a special rate of £5 for
adults, free for children. Access to some rooms
may be limited.You can order an entry ticket
for the house at the same time as buying your
Country Fair tickets – see the website at
www.holkhamcountryfair.com.
Chamber Music In
The Marble Hall
On Saturday 23rd April 2011 at 6.30pm we are delighted to welcome pianist
Alexander Romanovsky to the Marble Hall here at Holkham. He will be
performing Haydn’s Sonata in E flat major, Schumann’s Symphonic Etudes,
Tchaikovsky’s Three Pieces from The Seasons and Rachmaninov’s Sonata No.2.
Tickets cost £25 and include a glass of wine in The Saloon during the
interval. Contact Holkham Ticket Office on 01328 713111 to book or
email [email protected]
North Creake Airfield Remembered
The last weekend in February saw the Airfields of Britain
Conservation Trust (ABCT) hold a ceremony at North Creake
Airfield to unveil a granite memorial. The trust, founded by Kenneth Bannerman, honours and preserves airfields around the
country and is erecting memorials and gathering information to
form a record of their usage. North Creake Airfield was originally
a decoy airfield for Docking but was approved for requisition in
December 1942 for development as a genuine airfield.
The airfield is part of Holkham Estate and the Earl of Leicester
attended as a representative. Following a short speech the Last
Post was played as Michael Forster MBE, secretary of the RAF
Association King’s Lynn branch, dipped his flag in tribute.
Easter Eggstravaganza!
From Friday 22nd to Monday 25th April
we’re going hopping mad! There’ll be
rabbits everywhere as we celebrate Easter
in the Bygones Museum. There’s a quiz with
a rabbity theme and tokens to collect
from giant Easter bunnies hidden
around the museum. If you find
all the tokens you can exchange
them for a prize.
There’ll be lots more family fun
too. We’ve got popular children’s entertainers
Justso James and Stevie Spud to come along and
juggle, make balloon models and generally
clown about. Justso James will be here on
Friday, Saturday and Monday from 11am
to 3pm and Stevie Spud will be here on
Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday
from 11am to 3pm.
Admission will be adult £4, child £2
(2-16 years), under 2s free for the
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June Is Deer Discovery Month
Take a stroll in the park with our
Deer Keeper and gain an insight
into the lives of the beautiful
Tours take place on Wednesdays on
fallow and majestic red deer.
the following dates. There are two
Our Deer Discovery Walks are
tours each day at 11am and 2pm
informal and suitable for all ages
1st June • 8th June • 15th June
and abilities and you’ll have
22nd June • 29th June
plenty of opportunities to ask
questions. Bring along your binoculars and cameras if you have them. Dogs
on leads are welcome. We suggest you wear suitable footwear for walking in
parkland and come prepared for all weathers.
The tours last about an hour and cost £2 per adult, children are free of
charge. Tickets are available from our Ticket Office. Tel: 01328 713111 or
email [email protected]
TOURS SCHEDULE
✁
ENJOY TWO FREE DESSERTS
WITH THIS VOUCHER
Adnams would like to offer you and a
companion a FREE dessert when you enjoy a
starter and main course at either The Victoria
Hotel at Holkham or The Globe Inn in
Wells-next-the-Sea.
Simply cut out this voucher and present it
when you pay for your next meal at either
restaurant to claim your FREE desserts.
THIS VOUCHER IS VALID FOR TWO
PEOPLE UNTIL THE END OF MAY 2011
APRIL 2011
Noticeboard
Supplier Spotlight Sparks Up!
A Holkham Recipe
James and Helen Spedding
and Roger Foyster are the
blacksmiths at Holkham
Forge, based on the estate
at Longlands.
Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
125g butter
450g caster sugar
150g plain dark chocolate, broken into pieces
200g plain flour
75g self raising flour
50g cocoa powder
225g mayonnaise at room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
225g cold water
Method
Pre-heat oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3. Oil and line a 28 x 18 x 2.5cm
cake tin with baking parchment. Place butter, sugar, chocolate, vanilla and
water in a saucepan and heat gently until the chocolate and butter have
melted, but do not allow to boil. Sift the flours and cocoa into a large bowl
and make a well in the centre. Add the mayonnaise and about 1/3 of the
chocolate mix. Beat until smooth, then gradually beat in the remaining
chocolate mix. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour in the middle
of the oven until slightly risen and firm to the touch. Leave to cool in the
tin, then cut into squares.
Holkham Heroes
Maurice Bray has worked for Holkham since 1958, when he
joined as a carpenter at Longlands. When the Windowcraft
department was set up in 2002 Maurice was appointed to run it.
Maurice works with Adam Lovick and between them they
repair, restore and replace windows in the hall and in other
Holkham properties. When the Windowcraft department
started, Maurice and Adam were sent to Sweden for two
months to learn about the linseed paints and waxes developed by Hans and
Sonja Allback, which are available to buy through Holkham Linseed Paints.
All the windows that Maurice works on have oak frames which are treated
with linseed products before being reglazed and replaced in the holes they came
out of. Maurice calculates that a “middling sized” window takes about a
fortnight to repair and they only have about four more windows to do on the
exterior of the hall. However, there’s still work to do; he says there’s about 18
months of work on the windows that overlook the interior courtyards!
CALLING LOCAL CONTRACTORS...
This year’s annual external joinery repair and redecoration work has now
been surveyed and documented. Local companies interested in tendering for
these works should contact the Property Department on 01328 710240 as
soon as possible due to the fact that the good weather is now well overdue,
and we will want to start work as soon as it appears.
Gardening
Tips
byHead
Gardener
Tim
Marshall
JobstodoinApril,May
andJune
We moved into Holkham Forge about
two years ago. We got a grant from
Norfolk Coast Partnership’s sustainable
development fund to install 3-phase
electricity and to buy some of the heavy
equipment we needed and off we went!
Longlands used to be the “industrial”
base of the Holkham Estate and it was
here that all the metalwork, carpentry
and construction were carried out when James, left and Roger, right, with Ella
the dog at Holkham Forge
all of these things had to be done by
hand. Nowadays the buildings are being used again by the Windowcraft department, Holkham Linseed Paints and by our business, so there is a continuation,
which I really appreciate.
Holkham Forge does quite a bit of work for Holkham. As a lot of the items
from the estate are historical and may be listed, we have to repair them with
sensitivity and with a regard for using the correct materials. However, most of
the work we do is for private customers by word of mouth and we are always
happy to quote for jobs, large or small.
We have had success with the courses we’ve run here, both for adults and
increasingly for children through local schools. We are able to take people on
for one-to-one tuition and also to take a number of young people here who
really enjoy the hands-on, getting dirty experience.
Blacksmithing is an ancient craft which takes skill to get right, but it’s a great
connection with the past and a very elemental one.
Contact Holkham Forge on 07881 632257 or visit the website:
www.holkhamforge.co.uk
✁
Winning Ways
The two lucky winners of the
combined car park season ticket
competition in the first issue of
the Holkham Gazette have been
notified of their success. Their car
park season tickets are on the
way to them.
Many congratulations – enjoy
your visits to Holkham during the
2011 season!
• Takecautionbeforeplantingouttenderbeddingplantssuchas
Pelargoniums,makesurethefrostshavefinished.
• Ensurethatbulbssuchasdaffodilsdon'thavetheirfoliagecutback
foraboutsixweeksafterflowering.Leavingthefoliageonforaslong
aspossiblewillgiveextraenergyforthebulbfornextyear’sdisplay.
• Re-seedingofwornareasoflawnneedstobecompletedbeforethe
grounddriesout– March/Aprilisanidealtime.Forkoveranycompacted
areasandrakethesoiltoafinetilthbeforescatteringthegrassseed.
• GiveplantssuchasDelphiniumssupportastheygrow,tostopthem
fromcollapsinglaterintheseason.
• Toreducedamagetocarrotsbycarrotfly,growvarietiesresistant
tothispestandusecompanionplantingorbarrierssuchasameshover
theplants.Companionplanting,forinstancewithmarigolds,willconfuse
themotherpestwhenitlaysitseggsasitmasksthecarrotplant
odour.SowingcarrotsinJunewillalsoreducelevelsofdamageasyouwill
mostlymisstheegg-layingseasonoftheadultfemales.
Next issue published in July 2011
GET A FREE
HOT DRINK
FROM THE
BEACH CAFÉ
WITH THIS
VOUCHER
Visit the Beach Café on Beach
Road in Wells-next-the-Sea
before 17th April, present this
voucher and you can claim a
FREE hot drink on us!
Come and see the changes
we’ve made to the café – we’d
love to see you!
© The Holkham Gazette 2011
Published by
Coke Estates Limited
Holkham Estate Office
Wells-next-the-Sea
Norfolk NR23 1AB
Phone: 01328 710227
Website: www.holkham.co.uk