The Wet Boathouse At The Hall

It is something of wonder that, even for those who have known this place for several decades, there are still new things to be discovered.  And yet we continue to be surprised by what can be found in The Hall Estate. 

In this latest find, we again have our wonderful team of garden volunteers and our Head Gardener Tom to thank for their persistence in clearing the area by the mill stream that used to feed the great Kingston Mill.

Here we find stone steps leading down from the Dutch Garden to the mill stream, and as the thick brambles are gradually cut through some curved corrugated iron sheets are hanging over the water’s edge. These curved sheets, looking like they once formed a Second World War Andersen Shelter (as well they may have done), are perched on the top of a stone wall, covering an area of water just large enough to tuck a boat under.

From notes left by Major John Moulton (Alex Moulton’s older brother), we learn that this was one of the ‘wet’ boathouses, and where the rowing boat was kept.  The three Moulton children were free to use this boat as their Granny Moulton was keen for them to learn about, and respect, the river.

This aerial photograph of The Hall Estate in the late 1940s / early 1950s shows this wet boathouse quite clearly, as well as the formal Dutch Garden and the Peach House, all overlooked by the Dovecote building (originally a wool drying store).  Gradually this area fell into disuse and the formal gardens were lost.  The Peach House was demolished as late as the 1990s but more recently the Japanese Ponds have been reinstated and the gardens opened up again.  The mill stream itself has also found a new use – having been redundant since the demolition of the Kingston Mill in the 1970s, it now feeds a hydroelectric turbine producing green electricity.

The Moulton Trust Garden Volunteers at work by the mill stream.

The Hall Estate in the early 1950s, showing the formal gardens and the wet boathouse on the mill stream.