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THE NATIONAL TRUST Dartmouth at work


Dartmouth at Work – Every year thousands of people, of all ages, give up their time to help protect, restore and show visitors around historic National Trust properties and gardens all over the UK. Steph Woolvin spoke to three local volunteers….


Diana Crook COLETON FISHACRE GARDEN GUIDE


What is your role? I take people on a one hour tour around the grounds on a Sunday afternoon at 2pm. There is a tour everyday at that time run by different volunteers. I tell visitors what plants we have, explain about the work that goes into maintaining all the beds and borders and explain a little about the history.


What is the history? The house was built by Rupert D’Oyly Carte and Lady Dorothy between 1923 and 1926. They spotted this valley when they were out sailing their yacht and thought ‘that’s the place for us’ and soon started work designing the house and gardens. Rupert was the son of Richard D’Oyly Carte, the man behind Gilbert and Sullivan and the Savoy Hotel. Rupert went on to become Chairman of the Savoy Hotel Company in 1903, and ten years later took over the man- agement of the Opera Company. The


pair used it as their country home to enjoy gardening, sailing trips, swimming and entertaining.


What are people most interested in? They like to know about the family and the way the garden was creat- ed. It was heavily influenced by Ed- win Lutyens, an important architect and designer in the early 1900s. The


You find people are


very hardy even in the pouring rain! We get all ages and the odd dog coming along too.


garden was just as important to the family as the house and they wanted the outdoor space to be in keeping with the Arts and Crafts movement.


How much care goes into the garden? There are normally four gardeners who maintain the grounds, and 30 volunteers. Each border and flow- erbed is carefully constructed with specific themes, ideas and colours. It really is a work of art and it never stands still, the garden is constantly moving. The D’Oyly Cartes them- selves were experimental in the garden and the team try and keep that adventurous spirit going today.


When did you start volunteering here? In March. I followed the head gardener around during my training, asking lots of questions! I also spent time with other volunteers learning how they operate.


Do you have to be a gardening expert? Absolutely not, but it helps. You don’t need to learn the names of everything in the garden. I find myself often taking photos of plants and trees and then googling them later! My knowledge is growing every week. The gardeners are very helpful and give us notes each month explaining about any recent changes so we are kept up to date.


Have you met friends through your work here? Yes I have. Everyone has been ex- tremely welcoming. We have regular socials where volunteers get to catch up. As an organisation The Na- tional Trust is very encouraging and


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