Congleton Bath House and Physic garden is a restoration and conservation community project run by the volunteers of Congleton Building Preservation Trust.
The grounds of the Bath House were once owned by John Bradshaw perhaps Congleton’s most (in)famous inhabitant - as he was president of the court that condemned Charles 1st to death.
The Physic Garden has been created in the grounds of the Bath House with areas that grow different 'useful' plants and information that tells the story of medicinal plants.
The Bath House is located at the top of a slope, with grounds that extend about 100m down the hill towards Bradshaw House the home of John Bradshaw, and the Town Hall.
When the Bath House was restored, it was decided to create a Physic Garden of medicinal plants, that would be in keeping with the health enhancing purposes behind the building of the Bath House.
"The garden has created a space that is attractive and readily available for people to enjoy that is close to the centre of town. It also provides an inspiration for education in local history and the uses of plants.
The garden includes a wide variety of plants that were historically used in local industry, such as dye plants for textiles, as well as herbs more familiar in cooking.
The planting of the Physic Garden reflects the history of the medicinal use of plants, starting with wild native species planted in their various habitats of woodland, meadow, hedgerow, and wetland. These plants have been used as a resource since the times of our ancestors, with plant names like lungwort, feverfew, selfheal and bedstraw indicating their long traditional uses.
The woodland area is colourful in spring, with the yellows of native narcissus, primrose and witch hazel contrasting with the blues and pinks of lungwort. Summer brings colour to the meadow and pond area, with swathes of poppy, cornflower, purple loosestrife, yellow flag iris, meadowsweet and yarrow.
In autumn, the hedges and fruit garden are filled with the fruits and berries of hawthorn, elder, blackthorn, blackberry, plum, raspberry, blackcurrant and medlar.
Another area of the garden has particular species of plants that were deliberately cultivated and their scientific identification.
"The early cultivation of selected medicinal species took place in monastery gardens by monks, who prepared and stored their remedies in a storeroom, or ‘officina’. In the 18th century, when Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus created his system for uniquely naming plants, he chose the word ‘officinalis’ as the species name for plants with strong medicinal properties. The Apothecary’s Rose, Rosa officinalis makes a colourful and fragrant combination with other plants of the same species name – such as lavender, rosemary, jasmine, calendula, hyssop, lemon balm, and others, in our Officinalis bed."
Later on, the expansion of world travel brought remedies from around the world, and the garden includes examples such as Echinacea, Black Cohosh, Ginkgo, and Chinese Rhubarb. In recent times, scientific research continues to find new uses for familiar plants, such as Yew: which is now a source of cancer treatment drugs.
A newly planted yew hedge is beginning to form an evergreen screen around the garden shelter."
The garden has a culinary bed that contains plants that are traditionally used as flavourings for food, although all of them would be equally at home in the medicine cabinet. Mint is helpful for indigestion, and for treating respiratory infections. The onion family, such as the chives has many uses in the treatment of infection, and has recently gained attention for its help in lowering blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure. Rosemary, traditionally for remembrance, has been used as a treatment for depression, nervous exhaustion, and headaches.
It also has an area for plants that were used in Industry. This includes teasel, the seed heads of which were used in the textile industry for raising the nap of woven fabrics. Saponaria officinalis, as the Latin name suggests, has medicinal uses, but is also known as soapwort, and has been used as a cleaning agent in the textile industry. Madder, Woad, and Dyers’ Greenweed are well known as sources of textile dyes, but many others have uses both as dyes, and as herbal remedies, such as St John’s Wort, Lady’s Bedstraw, and Calendula."
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