The Blackden Trust Blackden


Work in progress

Richard Morris surveying the site before an excavation

Surveying the site

 


 

The Trust supports research into the history of Blackden, looking at the landscape, the documents and the evidence of material culture; in particular, pottery.

The field walking at Bridge Farm in April 2008 was the first of several we shall be organising in the area. The recording, dating and correlating of finds will give us an understanding of the daily lives of the people in the past.

A long term project will be the development of a herb garden around The Old Medicine House to grow herbs that would have been in use at the time of the building of the house.

We also plan to grow the seventeen gooseberry cultivars developed by Frank Carter, who was born at Toad Hall and lived all his life in Blackden.

The Frank Carter Memorial Archive

It is appropriate that the first document in the archive should be a complete list of Frank Carter’s cultivars.   This is the information that we have to date on the Gooseberry raised from seed by Frank Carter.  We would be most grateful for any information that would help to complete the record.

Name

Colour

Date registered

Story behind the name

1.

Montgomery

White

 

 

2.

Prince Charles

Yellow

 

 This berry was named to commemorate the birth of Prince Charles.

3.

Firbob

Yellow

 

  

4.

Blackden Gem

Red

 

 All Frank Carter’s cultivars were grown in Blackden

5.

Just Betty

Red

 

 Frank wanted to name this berry after his mother, Betty, but told Marjorie Garner, that he not happy about naming it Betty Carter. She suggested that just Betty would be fine, so Frank named the berry Just Betty.

6.

Christine

Red

 

  

7.

Montrose

Yellow

 

 Name of a ship

8.

Mr Chairman

White

 

  

9.

Bank View

Green

 

 Frank Carter’s son, Doug lives at Bank View in Goostrey

10.

Blackden Firs

White

 

 Frank Carter lived most of his married life at No. 4 Blackden Firs

11.

Roots

Green

 

  

12.

Woodside

Green

 

  

13.

Millennium

Yellow

 

  

14.

Newton Wonder

White

 

  

15.

Bellmarsh

White

 

 Bellmarsh is a late corruption of Bomish.  Bomish is an area on the edge of Blackden.  Frank Carter cycled past Bomish Farm on his way from his home at Blackden Firs to his work at Jodrell Bank.

16.

Crystal

White

 

  

17.

Jodrell Bank

 

 

Frank Carter worked at Jodrell Bank, in the experimental gardens of the Biology Department of The University of Manchester.  When he retired he continued to work at the visitors’ centre.

 

The Goostrey Growers say that Frank refused to count this berry, but they do not know why.
 

© The Blackden Trust 2008
    Updated: 19/09/2008		 The Blackden Trust is a registered charity no. 1115818