The Boating Lake

 

Boats are still available through the Spring and Summer months and can be hired from the Boathouse. A selection of Pedal and Rowing boats are available to hire for 30 minutes at a time.

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Laid out on the north and south-facing slopes of a shallow valley in which the Grove Brook and Handsworth Brook are dammed to form a wide, approximately oval-shaped lake with an island towards the centre. The lake was created to the design of Edwin Kenworthy as a boating pond in 1897, submerging the remains of a medieval moat; much of the former pleasure grounds associated with the rectory were also flooded. A half-timbered and gabled boathouse, also designed by Kenworthy in 1897, which stood at the south-west end of the lake, does not survive; neither do the late 19th Century low railings shown surrounding the lake in early 20th century photographs. Source

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The path as you walk in between the lake and the Victoria Jubilee Allotments is adjoined by a level lawn terraced into the north-facing slope and partly enclosed by holly hedges. This was a late 19th Century bowling green and was created on the site of the walled garden associated with the original rectory. Source