New Facilities for the Gardens Team at Lincoln’s Inn Completed
The successful completion of these new facilities will greatly benefit the Gardens team, reduce operation costs, make use of unused space and enhance the beautiful grounds they maintain.
Philip Ives, Head of Projects
We are pleased to announce the completion of our building project to enhance the facilities for our Gardens Team.
Two new buildings have been constructed behind the North Gardens, designed to blend seamlessly with the existing surroundings. After receiving final approval from Camden Council and the Inn’s committees in 2023, construction began on 22 January 2024 and was completed on 19 July 2024.
The new facilities include a potting shed, a new garage for the Amazone tractor and a new office. The potting shed extends our growing space, providing a cool place to sow seed, prick out seedlings and pot young plants on. It will also be used to store pots, crates and compost and an ideal place to store bulbs and tubers over the winter. All these activities will reduce the need to purchase mature plants and lowers operational costs.
The new office offers a quiet, confidential space for our Head Gardener and means that the existing common room can accommodate the entire team of four staff members and two weekly volunteers without disruption.
The new garage and potting shed are workspaces which enable comfortable working during bad weather and include additional storage space for equipment, ensuring safety and efficiency. Insulated external walls maintain a cool working environment in summer and a warm environment in winter. During the build, the Estates team also fixed the deteriorating timber windows and doors of the existing greenhouse, giving this facility a new lease of life.
Miranda Kimberley, Head Gardener, shared her excitement about the new facilities, saying, “These new facilities will enable us to work more efficiently and comfortably, enhancing the care we provide to the gardens throughout the year. The extra space and improved conditions will make a significant difference to our daily operations and long-term planning. I am so grateful to the Estates team, and Philip Ives and the architect and builders, for providing me with high quality buildings, a quiet office space for myself and a potting shed with an open patio, transforming an area that was previously underutilised. We can finally use this area for standing out plants and it has a beautiful view to boot!”
The building project was led by Philip Ives, Head of Projects at Lincoln’s Inn, who acknowledged the efforts of all those involved: “This project is the culmination of hard work and collaboration between the Inn’s Estates, Gardens and Works team, Stamos Yeoh Architects and the Main Contractor John Cirmaci Builders Limited. The successful completion of these new facilities will greatly benefit the Gardens Team, reduce operation costs, make use of unused space and enhance the beautiful grounds they maintain.”