National Trust set to destroy prize winning English vineyard
16 years ago a vineyard was planted at Ickworth House near Bury St.Edmunds in Suffolk. Its wines have become prize-winners. But even though it is the only commercial vineyard at a National Trust house, the Trust has decided it has to go so that the land it is on can be recreated as a traditional walled garden - no doubt at great expense. This is, apparently, the policy of the National Trust to do at every one of their properties which once had a walled garden. The owners of the vineyard, who are tenants of the National Trust, have been given until February 2013 to grub up the vineyard, without any compensation, even though the vines are now at their most productive. The 2.5 acre vineyard was planted and run by Charles and Jillian Macready who are now endeavouring to sell individual vines so they have a further life in people's gardens.See their website for more information - click here
Editor's comment: The National Trust really seems to have lost its way these days and seems to have become just another large corporation with highly paid top executives trying to maximise footfall and revenues. All over the country the Trust has been spending millions of pounds of its members and donors money in building highly expensive and unnecessary "visitor centres", restaurants and tea rooms which are then too expensive for many members to actually use. The Trust has also seriously "dumbed down" the experience of its properties and seems to be turning many of its gradually into sort of history theme parks. This latest decision to remove a unique feature from one of its properties (Ickworth Vineyard) is just another example of the autocratic style of the Trust. The sheer sacrilege of grubbing-up a productive and prize-wining vineyard is almost beyond belief. Given that this vineyard is unique why could Ickworth not have been spared this treatment - a recreated walled garden cannot be more than a pastiche or facsimile of what was once there and are there not many dozens of other National Trust houses which could have their walled gardens recreated before Ickworth?
    I have been a member of the Trust for 40 years, but as from the next renewal date, no longer! I would urge all National Trust members who feel likewise to contact the Trust and tell them they will not be renewing their membership (or leaving money in their wills to the National Trust to be squandered on unnecessary and expensive pet projects of overpaid executives). .
Bob Tarr, editor & webmaster