We Plough the Fields and Scatter

Local photographer, Sara Lloyd, delves into the social microcosm that is the Grange Lane Allotments.

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Following a sign directing you to The Fort and turning up an increasingly steep, winding lane devoid of road markings is the well-hidden world of Grange Lane Allotments. The only reasons to be down this Lane are if you play golf, attend the Scouts (hence the sign to The Fort) or have an allotment. Because of this it is alarmingly quiet and peaceful. You could easily be in the countryside and the noise of the nearby south circular is a distant memory.

They say that you can tell a lot about someone from the state of their shoes and so it would seem with an allotment. In fact, a furtive shoe inspection can form part of the interview process gardeners have to go through to get a site. Read into this the fact that you won’t get a plot here if you turn up in your best Sunday shoes!

And so, like shoes and their owners, there is a huge variety in the type of allotment at Grange Lane. Some of the plants stand neatly in line like regimented soldiers awaiting the next drill or inspection. Others’ plots are more loosely cultivated with a delightful range of flowers and vegetables – a bit more like Dad’s Army. A few sad cases are a testament to the neglect of their owners and wouldn’t pass muster.

You would be forgiven for believing that people have allotments because they have a small garden or none at all. In fact the number of reasons cited for having a plot were as diverse as the variety of plants being grown. Growing, nurturing and eating your own organic food, where you really can taste the difference, are obvious reasons. Penny cited the fact that gardening is good therapy, whilst food stylist Kerenza mentioned that it enables her to produce obscure leaves needed in the cooking she does for packaging.

For Len and Wally, both aged 85 years old, it provides them with a way of life. Both visit every day and Len has had an allotment for 44 years. Tom rather honestly mooted that it provides “procrastination from doing other things in life”.

With some 230 plots, Grange Lane Allotments is one of the largest sites of its kind in London and has been granted a long lease by its owners, The Dulwich Estate. Personal touches to the sites are in evidence with tables and chairs, lean-tos with cushions and umbrellas, and perhaps most touching, a wigwam constructed by Jan’s six year old son who also grows his own produce. And then there is the view. Pause for a rest whilst digging your plot and you will be rewarded with surely one of the finest unbroken vistas of London, stretching from the City in the east to Battersea and beyond in the west.

One final thought about this rather elusive site, is how it provides a microcosm of society as a whole. There are the community elders like Len and Wally whose standards are high and long gone according to the Secretary Dave. Then there is the next generation who look to carry on Len and Wally’s traditions. Finally there is another younger generation, some of who can behave more like the errant teenagers we read about in the papers. They are the want it now generation who haven’t really taken on board the fact that having an allotment is about putting in the hours to get the rewards. Being part of this Society means accepting certain rules and standards, being considerate to your neighbours and being an active part of a community. As Dave eloquently puts it, “Having an allotment is a privilege and a responsibility.”