Here are a few of the projects we are currently working on:
Signage and information boards
We have recently installed new signage and a storyboard in the north-east corner of the park, attached to the rear of the existing road-side notice board and to the adjacent brick wall -itself recently rendered and painted.
The new signs welcome visitors to the park and give a brief summary of the story of the statue and what it depicts.
The next stage of the project is to build a pebble mosaic by the signs to create a hard-standing area for visitors to walk. This will take the form of a swan design.
'Edith' Walk/Bike Trail Leaflets
In tandem with better signage we are developing a set of information leaflets – or helpful maps – which visitors can use to discover not only the statue, but also the delights of the nearby littoral through the use of the marvellous coastal path which stretches all the way from Rock-a-nore to Cooden Beach without a break. We see these leaflets/maps as the beginnings of a local set of visitor guides on which in time all aspects of local heritage, community and natural resources can be shown for the benefit of all who wish to access and use them.
Cleaning, Sealing and Painting
We have cleaned the statue several times and will do so regularly. In addition we plan to apply a sealant in order to arrest its erosion and protect for the future. This will necessarily be in a breathable form in order to allow trapped moisture in the crystal structure of the marble to escape.
Ina ddition we have also re-rendered the statu’s plinth and painted it with a protective masonry formula. We have extended this treatment by painting the adjacent walls to bring the them all together in a consistent and pleasing manner. This is on-going work in that regular maintenance (and touch-up) will be required.
Before and after (and during), cleaning and then painting
Edith's Garden
We have now been granted a 3-year Licence to:
‘protect and look after’ the statue, which includes ‘erecting signage, information boards, screening, protection and carrying out fundraising events’ and ‘to create and maintain flower beds’ around the statue’s green.
So in 2021 we seeded a Wildflower Meadow with 36 native wildflower varieties include several that are specifically bee*- and butterfly-encouraging ones as well as coastal-tolerant species. There is also an admixture of perennials and of course, many of the plants will self-seed, so we hope this will establish a good basis for the long-term sustainability of the meadow.
On the western side of the statue we have let the grass grow in four beds and planted several English wild rose plants to start an English Wild Rose Garden.
(*in particular, the rare 4-banded flower bee has been recorded in West Marina Gardens and we are keen to encourage it to flourish here.)
The 36 varieties are:
Red clover (Trifolium pratense)
White clover (Trifolium repens)
Corn cockle (Agrostemma githago)
Cornflower (Centaurea Cyanus)
Ox-eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare)
Wild Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra)
Greater Knapweed (Centaurea Scabiosa)
Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
Wild Marjoram (Origanum vulgare)
Meadow Cranesbil (Geranium pratense)
Musk mallow (Malva moschata)
Common Poppy (Papaver Rhoeas)
Ragged robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi)
Sainfoin (Onobrychis vicifolia)
Field Scabious (Knautia arvensis)
Small Scabious (Scabiosa Columbaria)
Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum)
Bird’s-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus)
Kidney vetch (Anthyllis Vulneraria)
Viper’s bugloss (Echium Vulgare)
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium))
Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus minor)
Lady’s bedstraw (Galium verum)
Bladder campion (Silene vulgaris)
Wild Carrot (Daucus carota)
Common Cat’s-ear (Hypochaeris radicata)
Haresfoot clover (Trifolium Arvense)
Evening-primrose (Oenothera Macrocarpa)
Goat’s-beard (Tragopogon pratensis)
Corn marigold (Glebionis segetum)
Common St John’s-wort (Hypericum perforatum)
Common Toadflax (Linaria vulgaris)
If you wish to support us in this endeavour you can do so by sending native wildflower pellets (a selection of native wildflower seeds encased in clay plugs) through Beebombs.com to us at The Marina Fountain, 26 Caves Road, St Leonards, TN 38 0BY via the link below.
The last photo above shows a new development which has been introduced as a result of the receipt of a generous donation of marigolds: Edith’s Floral Bed.
With permission from HBC, we have used the flowers to make a display in a small bed on the southern raised border of the park immediately adjacent to the statue to celebrate our special Lady and the most important date in English history. We hope that this bed will become a permanent feature of the garden, although the display itself may change from time to time.
Edith's Garden Implementation Plan 2022
In 2022 we plan to implement the following:
- maintain the wildflower garden and keep the borders and paths mown
- introduce more native English Wild Roses into the grass beds to the west of the statue, together with some additional shrubs and native wild grasses
- replant the marigold floral bed
- introduce two new flower beds around the benches: these have now been installed and are dedicated as the Tony Connerty Floral Beds in honour of a local man who asked for donations to FoE to be made at his funeral
- install further herb and dye plants in the southern border, together with some bedding plants and sunflowers.
Trek for Edith: Along the 'Real Saxon Shore'
In the planning for a long time has been the idea a journey along the south coast, from Sandwich to the Isle of Wight, in celebration of the coast line and hinterland over which King Harold and his fyrd kept a watchful eye in the summer of 1066 in order to protect it from potential invasion by the Norman horde. As such, we have dubbed this stretch of the littoral the ‘Real Saxon Shore’ in contradistinction to the separate Roman shoreline defences of an earlier time and different location.
Originally envisaged as a single walking event over several days (see Walking the A259), the plan is now to conduct the journey by foot and by bicycle in small segments over a greater period of time, during 2020/21, to allow a more in-depth discovery of the places and their history along the way and a more detailed appreciation of the landscape and countryside that has come down to us from 1000 years ago. The aim will be to capture this journey and the feelings and thoughts it evokes, in a published journal of words, drawings, photo and film to raise money for the cause.
Edith Festival
We have long been planning to develop an Edith Festival to celebrate all aspects of Edith, the statue and the local community. We are pleased to say our first Festival will be held on 11th October 2022 – please see or Events page.
We hope this will be the beginnings of a regular Festival which will grow in future years as a local platform to champion our local heritage and culture;
