It may be surprising to know that in 1950 British Rail
owned 75,000 allotments covering some 4,000 acres but by 1967 this had reduced
to 26,076 allotments covering 1,541 acres and reducing at the rate of some
3,000 per annum. However, British Rail was then still the largest single
allotment operator.
Hanging baskets and containers of flowers on station
platform to welcome all travellers were the norm in the late 19th and
early 20th century. Gertrude Jekyll considered stationmasters
to be “public benefactors” for providing gardens, and platforms edged with
borders of flowers and shrubs, to “refresh the weary traveller”.
The railway companies historically were significant landowners.
They confined their own planting efforts to a few hedges and trees alongside
their tracks, and low maintenance broom and gorse on embankments. They
did however establish many allotments on their land. The land adjacent to
stations was often rented out to employees for gardens and allotments, and
sometimes provided a house to their stationmasters. Any bloom and bedding were
generally down to the stationmaster and flower-loving assistants, guards and
porters.
In 1896 a reader wrote in The Garden of the
railways being “a refuge” for wildflowers being lost in the landscape due to
agricultural expansion and the spread of towns and cities. Today, both
wildflowers and garden escapees can be seen growing along the railway, but the
plant most often seen is Buddleia.
For over 100 years the London Underground has even been
blooming with planters and illustrations. Around the time of the First World
War, the District railway created a gardening competition for its staff and, with
many stations being above ground, flowers bloomed. in 1933 a wider competition
started and continued during the Second World War. During the Second World War
as every piece of land was utilised, railway banks were often used to provide
space in the nation’s ‘Dig for Victory’. The competition still runs today with
now broader categories including a community garden one which recognises
partnerships between staff and customers.
Unfortunately, the romantic days of steam and stations in
blossom with their allotments died many years ago. They impact of Richard Beeching's
1960s deep rail cuts originally proposed the closure of 2,363 stations and 5,000
miles of railway line. 55% of stations and 30% of route miles may
have been dilutand it spelt the decline of rail. In parallel the then
Transport Minister, Ernest Marple set out a road building programme to shift
freight and passengers onto the roads which resulted in the decline of rail, coupled with a decline in in demand for allotments, resulted in a
decline in Railway allotments.
Our railways are now in the hands of individual companies
and they are responsible for most of our railway stations and their
profitability, while Network Rail maintain the 20,000 miles of track, and the
10 million trees growing alongside.
Ask the rail commuter of today about railway horticulture
and they will probably start a long conversation about ‘leaves on the track’ or
high winds bringing down trees onto the track or snow bringing down trees and
knocking out powerlines. Few will talk about the stations in bloom or the
station allotment. The only colour to adorn many stations today often comes
from an aerosol in the form often illegible and meaningless graffiti.
Have we lost this land and simply made the stations
functional and plant free? Will HS2 be just a track through the land and like
many of our motorways today, just provide a route from A to B bordered by high
fencing to dull the sound and block off the countryside?
Land is valuable and we already see stations being built
over to accommodate housing and retail, and railway banks are understandably in
many cases fenced off and not planted and left wild or covered in the low cost option of wire meshed bolder cubes or sustainable concrete.
So today we still have railway space opportunities, but these are often not obvious or require significant vision, determination, and good connections to make changes happen. In London there are still abandoned spaces and opportunities. Here in the heart of the East End in the densest housing area in Western Europe and what some say is the poorest borough in London we have a 700 square metres of railway line viaduct which has lain derelict for many years and once provided the north south passage through the Isle of Dogs. Some have proposed using the upper elevation to provide community gardens as part of a holistic growing strategy for the Borough, but so far there is little traction. There are significant issues to be addressed but it is there today and provides an opportunity to create an iconic ‘High Line’ or ‘Grow Line’ with unique views over the Island to Canary Wharf, over the Thames to Greenwich and towards the City.
There are other railway partnership opportunities in many
urban areas where growing space is scarce. Today, large infrastructure projects
such as Crossrail and the Kings Cross redevelopment are providing roof gardens
or ‘pocket parks’. Our allotment Society proudly has a small allotment plot in
the Crossrail roof gardens which shows the partnership that can exist.
Can Network Rail still hold the key to unlocking some land for allotments?
