The latest work along Glen Goyle by working party volunteers has literally unearthed interesting ‘relics’ of the park’s history.
From John McGregor:
The concrete structure is now identified as the newt pond, previously in the Asherton House lawn (which is now the main lawn area of Glen Goyle) .It is thought by David Basset (grandson of Dr. Cohen who lived at the House) to have been dumped upside down across the stream by the builders of the new properties on the Asherton site. (1965+)
This information was received from David Bassett, who knew the gardens very well as a child on visits to Asherton House – and is published with kind permission:
Thank you so much for sending the pictures of the concrete structure. I believe it might be the lily pond upside down that use to be between the House and the Rose Arched bridge as marked on my sketch of the gardens. It might be possible to confirm this hypothesis by examining the rim as there used to be a pipe just below the surface of the water, either hooked up to a water supply for topping up or serving as an overflow. The pond used to be full of newts who were caught, transferred to a large jar and then returned to the pond on a regular basis. Perhaps when the builders cleared the site, they rolled it down the slope and across the stream in order to repair some flood damage!
These account and photos are also from John McGregor, of the latest clearings:
I cleared the steps again earlier today and some of the connecting path. An edging of flints has become exposed which we will need to reinstate at certain points to delineate the footway.
