In memory of Fakenham's much-loved Wisteria |
Fell on September 29th 2020 after being battered by strong winds and rain.
Like many we were saddened to hear of the demise of our beautiful and ancient wisteria which populated Newman's yard off Norwich Street for so many years.
This well established shrub was thought to be 200 years old. An expert from Kew gardens visited it some years ago and agreed the age and confirmed that it is one of the longest in the country. Because wisteria is a shrub, not a tree, it could not benefit from a protection order. The story goes that the wisteria was kept going from a soft water well in the yard. Whenever building work was planned careful measures were taken to protect the shrub from damage. Over the years, many quite bizarre stories concerning the wisteria have been told; One story, often told to children, goes that two gargoyles called Sid and Artie lived in the shrub's cavity. It is said that they came over with William the Conqueror as models for gargoyles in cathedrals. Apparently they were going on their holidays to Wells and stopped off in Fakenham where Mr. Newman gave them a home. They are now in a place of safety and nothing now resides in the cavity. |
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© 2011 Fakenham & District Community Archive.
Created in-house by Fakenham & District Community Archive
Created in-house by Fakenham & District Community Archive