Volunteer Weekend sessions: 18 & 19th March 10am – 1pm

Additional weekend sessions will be noted in due course.

Rental collection at Elder Stubbs: 18 & 19th March 10-11am

Elder Stubbs Festival and Vegetable Show: Saturday 19th August 2017 Starting at 12 Noon.

Tenants Open Meeting: Tuesday 12th September 7pm

Elder Stubbs Charity primarily supports 2 local charities who have a base at our allotment site.

Restore is a mental health charity working towards providing recovery and coaching support to people with mental health problems whilst working with the whole community to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness.

Restore has a number of buildings by the main entrance including a canteen, offices, wood workshop and shop which is open to the public. They also grow crops on about 2 acres of the site. The produce is used in the canteen, for sale and to make preserves.

For more information about Restore: http://www.restore.org.uk

The Porch – Steppin’ Stones provides day long support for homeless and vulnerably housed people wanting to move forward in their lives, away from street-life and addiction.

Steppin’ Stones has a spacious shed and grow crops on about an acre of the site. Their produce goes predominantly to their kitchen which provides 2 meals a day to their members. They also make jams and pickles.

For more information about The Porch – Steppin Stones: http://www.theporch.org.uk

Other community groups and charities have been involved having a plot to work with their supported members. These have included youth mentoring, family intervention project, The Cherwell Project.

Community groups wanting to be a part of the Elder Stubbs community are welcome to apply to be put on our waiting list and to discuss their requirements.

It should be noted that projects that have had most success have had a key person to be there on a regular basis. Shared responsibility to lead a group we have found rarely works.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to Elder Stubbs Charity Allotments website.

The allotments are located opposite Florence Park on Rymers Lane.

Elder Stubbs Charity Allotments is a community site providing approximately 100 plots of variable size to local people. The site overall is about 12 acres.

2 local charities are also supported who work with some of the more vulnerable members of our community.

In addition The site provides a welcome green oasis in the city with woodland areas, pond, wildflower meadow and orchards amongst the developing habitat areas.

Above photographs a sunbathing dragonfly and an excellent crop in our Heritage Orchard

News: Allotment plots availability – We have a waiting list of approximately 30 people. Please refer to the section on Contact and applying for a plot where mention is made about our necessary response to the recent extraordinary situation with Covid 19.

Every allotment site should have its resident artist and we are very fortunate that Andy Little has turned his creative hand to making sculptures of some scary dinosaurs, pigs amongst other interesting characters! Featured Andy is seen next a recently produced dinosaur.

Newsletter 1 January 2018

Elder Stubbs Charity Allotments has an interesting history originating from the time when the people of Cowley made use of the “Elderstub Coppice” on Shotover with a first reference to it in 1643 when it was a small part of the Royal Hunting Forest. This was used with a route usually taken for grazing going up through Open Magdalen and back through Open Brasenose. Local people had grazing rights, pannage and collection of firewood.

This ceased in 1852 with inclosure which led to many heated disputes and the allotments came in to being to ameliorate the impoverishment of the people of Cowley through the loss of their common land. It was administered by trustees who’s remit was to provide a growing area for a rent paid at Michaelmas and Lady Day to meet the needs of the “deserving labouring poor.”

Reference to the current location of Elder Stubbs Charity Allotments dates to the time of the First World War.

Elder Stubbs is unusual in structure compared to many allotments in being a charity rather than Local Authority controlled. Over recent times trustees have taken the original remit to meet the needs of the “deserving labouring poor” to be more more relevant in the support of the disadvantaged and vulnerable members of our local community.

Firstly Restore were invited – a charity working for mental health, to have a base and later on Steppin’ Stones – a charity providing day long support for homeless and vulnerably housed people. These charities are supported by Elder Stubbs Charity Allotments and both played an important part in the regeneration of the allotments from when they were in a degraded state during the 1990’s and before.

Elder Stubbs now provides allotments to local people with about 100 plots of varying size as well as its important community role too.

There is a noteworthy annual celebration that has taken place for over 20 years, always the third Saturday in August – The Elder Stubbs Festival and Vegetable Show which attracts in the region of 3000 people. It is a wonderful family friendly event with music, food, lots of stalls. It also has an important function in promoting the work of Restore and through the Vegetable Show also giving an idea of what can be produced on an allotment.

Above photographs are of the Festival and Vegetable Show