Category: Estate

Lockdown, brought about by the devastating COVID-19 epidemic, has inevitably given many people a lot of time for reflection. Whether it’s your lifestyle, job, health or relationships with family and friends, we have all had some thinking space in recent months.

The custodian of Wasing, Joshua Dugdale, has been looking back at the development of his family’s estate over the years and sharing some memories from childhood.

Family history

Wasing has been in his family for more than 260 years, since 1759. Originally a traditional country estate, Wasing didn’t become a wedding venue until 2008 and our trio of Old Estate Rooms were finished five years ago in 2015.

The Dovecote, The Granary and The Smithy sit proudly in the centre of Wasing Park, our exclusive-use wedding venue at the heart of the estate. Joshua is extremely proud of the decision to bring these very unique, Grade II Listed, 18th century buildings back to life.

“It was a fantastic decision to bring these rooms back to life. Everyone loves each room – they are completely unique and arguabley make up some of the most interesting bed rooms anywhere. What’s not to like about that! It was also an incredible learning experience about how to be sensitive with old listed buildings, and a journey of discovery of the different techniques required to bring them back to life,” says Joshua, who adds: “The Dovecote in particular is an incredible space, with the ladder for grabbing the dove eggs, still part of the building. We managed to light the dove holes which was particularly ingenious, and put underfloor heating under the brick floor. It’s an incredible experience to sleep in that room, and one that is probably unlike any other.”

The Dovecote

The Dovecote is a circular bedroom suite situated over two floors. Once home to hundreds of doves it’s now enjoyed by wedding guests and corporate visitors.

Joshua continues: “The Granary also is a wonderful space, and has been very sensitively designed. It reminds me of an alpine lodge, something out of Hansel and Gretel. Especially when you poke your head out of the top floor! Who would have thought that just seven years ago it was an agricultural store with the same flooring which must be over 200 years old!”

The Granary

Once an old grain store, The Granary is our fairy-tale suite sitting proudly on its saddle stones with features including a free-standing copper bath and king size bed.

Memories of childhood

Joshua shares some of his childhood memories of the estate.

“I always used to come and visit with my parents from Birmingham once every school holidays. It was quite sleepy but very beautiful. I have wonderful memories of my grandparents, Bill and Nance Mount, and the many fascinating people who worked on the estate, including Paul and Barry Woodley who are still here,” he says, adding: “I remember seeing the whole wedding area, as it is now, as being out of bounds as it had gone to rack and ruin rather. It was a dumping ground for many of the farm and estate paraphernalia, old bits of metal, telegraph poles, bits of concrete, wood stores etc. The Smithy was the ‘men’s bothy’ where the team would retire for their elevenses, lunch and tea.”

The Smithy

Once an old blacksmiths shop and the men’s bothy as told by Joshua above, The Smithy still features the striking old forge fireplace, original wooden beams and window sills and a contemporary seven foot four-poster bed.

The Future

Looking to the future, Joshua still has more plans for the estate.

“We are hoping to be able to bring the produce from our almost organic farm (we are coming to the end of the second year in conversion) direct to the customer, whether that is in the restaurant, the wedding venue, or a possible hotel. Obviously COVID 19 has shaken the hospitality industry up somewhat so the question is how can we best adapt. We think we have a fabulous story to tell, and can’t wait to do so.”

At Wasing, we hold nature in the highest regard, viewing it as the foundation of everything we do. Our commitment to the environment is evident through our extensive Countryside Stewardship scheme, where we’ve dedicated large sections of the estate to promoting biodiversity. We take great pride in managing over six miles of river frontage along the River Kennet and Enborne, home to a diverse range of flora and fauna, making it one of the richest lowland rivers in the UK. These waters support 21 species of dragonflies, the rare Whorl Snail, unique bat species, and numerous farmland birds like Yellowhammers, Skylarks, Linnets, and Chaffinches.

This year, as part of our ongoing commitment to environmental stewardship, we’ve joined the Great British Spring Clean and the Million Mile Clean initiative from Surfers Against Sewage. These campaigns aim to tackle the alarming levels of litter that continue to harm our landscapes and waterways.

Today our dedicated Wasing team took to the roads, riverbanks, and pathways around Aldermaston, Brimpton, and Woolhampton. Armed with bags and a shared sense of responsibility, we collected litter and fly-tipped items from local roadsides and the riverbanks—working together to restore the beauty of our environment.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s clean-up effort. Your dedication and hard work make a real difference in preserving the natural world that we cherish.

Maybe we’ve inspired you to do a litter pick in your local area. If we have, you can find out more about The Great Britsih Spring Clean, click here  & to discover more about Surfers Against Sewage Million Mile Clean, click here.

 

 

WATCH EARTH DAY 2024 PLANET VS PLASTICS

At Wasing, we believe that nature is the cornerstone for everything and are immensely proud of our large Countryside Stewardship scheme with numerous areas of the estate devoted to promoting wildlife. We also look after around 6 miles of river frontage of the River Kennet and Enborne, which has amongst the largest range of flora and fauna of any lowland river in the UK. Some of those include habitat for 21 species of Dragonfly, Cranefly, the Whorl Snail, rare bat species, and numerous farmland birds such as Yellowhammer, Skylarks, Linnet and Chaffinch.

In order to protect this wonderful environment that surrounds us all & to mark Earth Day ‘Planet vs Plastics’ 2024, Wasing recently held its annual litter pick as part of Surfers Against Sewage Million Mile Clean; the biggest initiative of its kind in the UK, with volunteers on a mission to pick up a million miles of rubbish that pollutes our coastlines, canal paths, bridalways and city streets.

Wasing colleagues, along with friends from our local community, headed out from the Estate in teams towards Aldermaston, Brimpton and Woolhampton to collect rubbish and fly-tipped items from local roadsides and riverbanks.

A very big thank you to the team!

To find out more about Earth Day, click here & to discover more about Surfers Against Sewage Million Mile Clean, click here

We are very excited to announce the launch of our brand new floating dry dock at Frouds Bridge Marina.

Affectionately dubbed the “Wasing Whale” by Frouds Bridge berth holders, this freshly installed out-of-water facility has been introduced to provide the local and visiting boating community maintenance and repair services including blacking, anode replacements and rudder & skeg works.

The customised floating dry dock has been welded and installed by a highly skilled local Berkshire-based team, using 32 tonnes of steel, 12 miles of weld and over 100 litres of paint for its assembly. In addition to the dry dock, a new paint tent has been installed, offering berth holders a convenient and quality service.

“We’re delighted that the new dry dock is now afloat & have received enormously positive feedback from our customers. Due to its size, craning the dry dock into the water was a nerve-wracking moment but it all went swimmingly & we’re so pleased to see so many boats coming in in need of works & leaving looking and running beautifully”.

– Matt Stroud, Manager at Frouds Bridge Marina

 

Andy Spiceley, one of our berth holders & owner of Pelekas, has kindly shared his story of the Wasing Whale:-

Sooner or later, most boat owners will be looking for appropriate facilities for external below-the-waterline maintenance, whether for routine blacking and anode replacement, or other work such as attention to the rudder & skeg.  With the growth in boat numbers on the Kennet and Avon, the team at Frouds Bridge marina near Aldermaston had for some time been considering how to offer an “out-of-the-water” facility alongside existing services.

When Matt Stroud, marina manager, began working on a plan to introduce docking facilities, it was soon clear that a floating dry dock was the only viable option.   The marina is on the volatile River Kennet, where the water level can change by several feet very quickly, and the only available space to install and operate a dock is close to the river, where the land is very soft.  Fixed structures such as a permanent dry dock or slipway require planning permission,  and regular use of a crane – even if there had been suitable firm ground and adequate space – is not permitted under restrictive planning covenants.

When the project was announced to marina users I was fascinated to know, given the constraints on site, how it was going to be achieved. What follows is a distillation of a complex undertaking which, like the proverbial waterfowl, looked smooth and flowing from the outside, but in reality, depended on a lot of hard work behind the scenes!

So how do you go about making your own floating dry-dock?   Although there are several examples around the canal network, no two are identical: this is not an “off-the-shelf” product.

Initially Matt consulted industry specialists Pontoon & Dock who were able to provide basic design  drawings of a generic floating dry dock of the required dimensions.    The design was customised during detailed planning of the construction – for example making it higher to allow for the significant changes in water level on the Kennet.

It was soon obvious that, with the escalating price of steel, the project would soon become un-economic so the decision was taken to go-ahead using local expertise as far as possible, working with an in-house team and supported by specialist contractors where necessary.  Fortunately Dave Lane, an experienced marine welder and fabricator, is a marina berth-holder, and had previously built the dry-dock at Greenham Lock marina in Newbury; he and Nick Peppitt of Hollington Forge handled all the welding and fabricating.

One very significant factor which shaped the project was the question of how to assemble and launch the completed dock, given the constraints of soft land next to the water, small and twisty access roads and very limited open space.  The answer was to build relatively small sections of the dock which could be fabricated by Dave off-site and delivered one by one.  The dock could then be stitched together in situ ready for lifting into the water.  [picture]

The next planning challenge:  getting the completed dock into the water.  Clearly this was going to require specialist expertise and a very big crane!  Lifting contractors KAS & Southern Cranes looked at the area where the dock was going to be assembled and advised that it could not be lifted there without considerable disruption to the marina grounds and building of an appropriately firm road bed for the crane.  The only feasible option was to perform the lift from the bank adjacent to the marina office, bungalow and boat fuel/service point.  This required in turn that assembly and fitting out of the dock had to be re-located.  Back to the drawing board!

As is typical of so many large projects, there was a real sense of acceleration towards the end; after years of deliberation and analysis, and months of careful planning and preparation, the fruits of the work suddenly became tangible.  Over a period of a few weeks, a big steel boxes starting appearing on the bank. [picture].   Big cranes have to be booked a long time in advance;  so having estimated when the dock would be ready, and made a firm booking, there was a serious deadline to finish fitting out the dock with doors, pumps, & railings, and apply large quantities of paint, against a backdrop of extreme weather conditions – from torrential rain and high wind to heatwaves.  Large quantities of tea were consumed during this period!

The most dramatic spectacle of the entire project was of course the lift.  For Matt, this was also the most nerve-wracking, since, notwithstanding all the thorough analysis and preparation, the lift had to be performed in the restricted space next to his bungalow and the fuel and pump-out points.  There was little margin for error and it had to work first time without a rehearsal.

Despite making preparations in advance as far as possible (including clearing space for the crane and its stabilisers, laying a firm base for the 55 tons of ballast, and preparing the access road) a very early start was needed on the big day.   It was very early indeed for the crane crew – the low road speed of the crane meant a 1:30am start for them to get to the marina at the required time!   After hours of preparation, all was ready, and with no fuss at all, the dock was smoothly lifted into the water. [pictures].  

The remaining tricky task was to move the dock from the launch site into its operating position at the opposite end of the main pool – a manoeuvre not anticipated as part of the initial design considerations.  With just 500mm of clearance each side between the dock and the ends of the mooring pontoons, the dock was roped very carefully along the marina to its final destination.

So, with 32 tons of steel assembled with 12 miles of weld, over 100 litres of paint (not to mention 250 cups of tea) the moment arrived to see how well it works in practice and find out if the various design decisions had been correct!  Would the theory of how the dock should behave when emptying and flooding be met in practice?   The first trial showed that the dock would rise and fall very evenly with minimal use of the ballast tanks.

Of course, you can’t launch a vessel (and arguably, the dock is a vessel) without giving it a name.  Matt invited marina berth holders to come up with a name; and the winning entry was The Wasing Whale – referencing the marina owners, Wasing Park Estate.

I asked Matt whether, after seeing such a complex project from the first concept to the dramatic culmination of the lift and final commissioning, there was afterwards any sense of anti-climax in the team; “no time for that”, he replied, “now we have to organise how we will feed the whale and manage its appetite for blacking materials!”

Looking back, Matt commented that the most satisfying aspect of the project is that it demonstrates that, with the right planning and preparation, even a large undertaking such as this can be managed and delivered by a skilled local team. 

At Wasing Estate, we believe that nature is the cornerstone for everything and are immensely proud of our large Countryside Stewardship scheme with numerous areas of the estate devoted to promoting wildlife. We also look after around 6 miles of river frontage of the River Kennet and Enborne, which has amongst the largest range of flora and fauna of any lowland river in the UK. Some of those include habitat for 21 species of Dragonfly, Cranefly, the Whorl Snail, rare bat species, and numerous farmland birds such as Yellowhammer, Skylarks, Linnet and Chaffinch.

In order to protect this wonderful environment that surrounds us all, Wasing held its annual litter pick on Monday 6^th March 2023. Around 30 Wasing colleagues, along with friends from our local community, headed out in teams from the Estate towards Aldermaston, Brimpton and Woolhampton to collect rubbish and fly-tipped items from the roadsides and riverbanks.

Among some of the unusual items collected was a bath, a bike frame, wheel trims, car mirrors, golf tees, tyres, plant pots, plates & many drink cans & bottles.

Andrew Perkins, CEO at Wasing Estate, commented “We are committed to responsibly managing the environment within our stewardship and every year devote hundreds of acres to help wildlife habitats to thrive. A very big thank you to all of the Wasing team and friends from our local community who volunteered to take part in the litter pick and help keep our surroundings clean and flourishing”.

Composting has been a part of nature for millions of years and it is a process proven to majorly benefit the growing process of plants and food by providing us with nutrient-rich soil.

Our newly installed Ridan Composter helps us easily, quickly and economically turn our kitchen waste into an eco-friendly solution that the Estate gardens can reap the benefits from.

The main advantages of installing this composter are…

• The reduction of waste disposal and road transport costs
• The reduction of greenhouse gasses and landfill
• The ability to reduce the Estate’s carbon footprint
• Create great quality compost to benefit the Estate gardens in multiple ways
• Demonstrate a high level of sustainability

Why is this so important?

It is estimated that 11.8 million tonnes of food waste produced in the UK go to landfill each year as well as 20% of our greenhouse emissions are associated with food waste. These statistics are extremely damaging to our planet and every step we can take to reduce these numbers is a step in the right direction.

You can read more about our Ridan Composter here

For almost 5 years, Wasing has been operating Frouds Bridge Marina under a lease agreement. We are extremely happy to announce that in August 2022 we purchased the marina and are now developing exciting plans to enhance its facilities and the services it provides, whilst preserving the peace and tranquillity that it is famed for.  

Frouds Bridge Marina was established in 1997, steadily growing in size and popularity thereafter, and nowadays can accommodate 160 narrowboats over 9,000 feet of wooden jetties. The marina is set within calm and peaceful grounds joining the Kennet and Avon canals and rivers. The marina is bursting with wildlife including several varieties of fish, herons, cormorants, moor hens, otters, badgers, mink, water voles, birds of prey and around 10 different species of bat. We strive to balance the needs of the boats whilst promoting green habitat for flora and fauna.

The first major addition to come to Frouds Bridge in coming months will be the introduction of a floating dry dock & paint tent and the improvement of car parking facilities with the introduction of electric car charging points.

 “I am delighted to announce the official purchase of Frouds Bridge Marina by Wasing Estate. This is an extremely exciting time for us as we grow and improve our facilities. We are very pleased to continue welcoming both new faces and long-standing patrons within our boating community.” – Matt Stroud, Marina Manager

 

To find out more about the marina, please visit https://www.froudsbridgemarina.co.uk/

Before the end of the summer school term Wasing’s gardens team donated wooden pallets to Grazeley Primary School to be repurposed by the year 6 Eco-Champions.

The year 6 Eco-Champions have been working on a project, to improve the schools outside environment by growing their own plants for pots around the school. The final big project they wanted to carry out before they left for secondary school was to build a bug hotel.

With Wasing’s old wooden pallets they were able to succeed, the Eco-Champions worked hard and are delighted with the end result.

This photo was taken just before a green living roof was added. They even named it, The Bugeley Hotel!

This was a special project to be a part of, not only because it is teaching the younger generation the importance of the natural environment and how to care for it, an integral part of Wasing’s ethos, but also because there are a few personal connections to Grazeley Primary School. Mrs Hoskins the school’s Office Manager and wife to our Head Gardener Tom, helped organise the donation of the pallets and their daughter who attends the school, will get to see all the improvements made by the Eco-Champions first hand. Mrs Lowe, the year 6 teaching assistant who organised and ran the school project is also mum to one of the Farming team at Wasing! It’s a small world!