Secret Garden

The Secret Memorial Garden is sited on an old patch of waste ground, previously a builder’s yard, to the rear of Castle Hill, a community building and home to a number of organisations including the Great Torrington and District Community Development Trust.

The garden is a Community and Memorial Garden, open to anyone looking for a tranquil space in which to collect their thoughts, sit and read, or simply to wander around taking in the sights and smells of a wonderful variety of plants and herbs. The Memorial is to five boys, evacuees of the 2nd world war, who lost their lives in a fire at Sydney House in 1942. A bronze statue of a boy sitting on a boulder reading a book is a wonderful tribute to the memory of those young lads. A mosaic created by local children, and a mural created by a local artist are mounted on the wall. It is truly a community garden, created with a community spirit.

The garden was created from a seed of an idea, a lot of volunteer hours, blood, sweat and tears. It germinated into a formal, yet inviting green space with a Tradescant style Knot Garden filled with medicinal and culinary herbs, a lawn area with a willow ‘hidey house’ for youngster to while away the hours with stories and games, and a herbaceous border that fills the senses and invites all who visit to stop and take a deep breath. The invitation is to all who live and visit Great Torrington to come and spend time in serene and peaceful surroundings. It has exceeded everyone’s expectations. The quiet solitude it offers away from the busy world in which we live has made it an oasis of calm and beauty.

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