Harvest of a Quiet Eye 2016

The main feature this year was the display of historic photos illustrating the development from very early days of  Clippesby Hall. There were photos of the Hall from 1870 and from the first part of the last century when it was a country estate until WW11 came with all its changes.

After the war from 1945 it became a horticultural

nursery supplying its parent company, D & F McCarthy Ltd. with soft fruit, flowers and vegetables and, gradually, as tractors replaced heavy horses and mains elctricity arrived, some of the outbuildings were no longer needed for their original purpose, so in the sixties were converted into holiday cottages.

Fields of daffodils and tulips gave way in 1964 to Christmas trees. Rather than being used for forcing bulbs the glasshouses were filled with pot plants and Clippesby Garden Centre emerged in 1968. It was one of the first garden centres in the county and was very popular,  but the gales of 1987 created such havoc that it was decided to close it and concentrate on the holiday side of the business which by then included a touring and camping park as well as the self-catering cottages. So it was that the exhibition showed photos of the changes that have taken place over the years.  Some of these can be viewed here.

Pictures of people that have worked at Clippesby in the nursery created a lot of interest, sparking off reminiscences with mardling and laughter.