Yorkshire's real secret garden could never re-open to visitors after the coronavirus crisis

Helmsley Walled Garden may never open to the public again without an urgent injection of funding.
Helmsley Walled GardenHelmsley Walled Garden
Helmsley Walled Garden

The site - which was once the kitchen garden that supplied fresh produce to the nearby Duncombe Park estate - has not been able to open to visitors so far this season and its future is now uncertain.

The 18th-century gardens feature in the new film adaptation of the classic children's book The Secret Garden, starring Colin Firth and Julie Walters. Filming took place last summer after producers 'fell in love' with the gardens, but the movie's release date has now been postponed due to the closure of cinemas.

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A fundraising appeal called Our Secret Garden has now been launched to raise £50,000 to cover ongoing running costs until March 2021. Anyone who donates £25 will be able to ‘adopt’ a square metre of the site and will receive a commemorative certificate. The gardens rely on entry fees and grants to survive, and close during the winter.

Helmsley Walled GardenHelmsley Walled Garden
Helmsley Walled Garden

Garden manager June Tainsh said: “Local lady Alison Ticehurst restored the garden in 1994 from five acres of wasteland by the ruins of Helmsley Castle. It is heartbreaking to think that our stunning garden, made so by a small staff and essential volunteers, is blooming behind locked gates and will remain that way if we don’t get vital funds soon.

"The garden provides solace and a refuge for a great many of our 50-strong volunteer workforce - some of our more vulnerable volunteers are supported in a range of ways at the garden and the provision of this unique facility and the way we run it is at risk along with the garden’s future.”

The garden staff run a scheme whereby vulnerable people in need of mental health therapy can take part in volunteering activities.

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The site is also home to a popular cafe called The Vinehouse, which is located in the old Victorian glasshouses where grapes were once grown. Run by twentysomething siblings Sam and Mollie Chapman since 2016, it was the only food and drink business in Yorkshire to win an accolade at the 2019 Visit England Tourism Awards.

The Chapman family also own Gepetto's, the Italian restaurant in Helmsley, but both businesses have been forced to close indefinitely due to the lockdown. Sam and Mollie were unable to open The Vinehouse as planned this spring and it only trades during the gardens' seasonal opening.

To donate, visit www.helmsleywalledgarden.org.uk.

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