Chalkhill orchard is on public open space in front of Chalkhill state in Wembley Park. It dates from the 1960’s and includes veteran apples, pears, plums and a walnut tree. The orchard is used as a cut-through by local residents, who enjoy harvesting the fruit.
Chalkhill Orchard
What Can You Find There:
- 7 apples (including Bramley Seedling, but not all varieties
- identified)
- 3 pears
- 4 damsons
- 1 walnut
- 1 cherry plum
Harvesting damsons from the orchard
- Where can you find it: St David’s Close, Off Barnhill Road, HA9 9BT
- Nearest station: Wembley Park
- Can I visit: Yes
- Orchard owner & carer: London Borough of Brent parks department
Orchard History
Chalkhill estate was developed as a “Metroland” estate in the 1920’s (Metropolitan Railway’s property company developed housing estates on land that it had bought beside its railway lines, promoting the benefits of living in the countryside of “Metroland”) and enlarged between 1966 and 1970. Orchard was probably planted as part of the landscaping of the estate.
Biodiversity Highlights & Habitat
- The orchard trees have cavities, dead wood and bracket fungus which are home to many species of invertebrates.
- The nearby railway line acts as a wildlife corridor
- A family of blue tits have nested in a hole in one of the apple trees
- Bats have been recorded in the area, including Serotine and Lesser Noctule
Galleries formed by beetle larvae
Community Around the Orchard
- Residents of Chalkhill estate and other local residents,
- Chalkhill primary school
- Brent Good Gym
- Thames 21
Working Together
The Orchard Project worked with local residents at Chalkhill in 2016/17. With the help of the council and Good Gym, we mulched the fruit trees with woodchip. We ran a workshop in the orchard for schoolchildren from Chalkhill primary, ran a community plum harvest and a summer picnic. We pruned the trees, identified and labelled some of the varieties, and wrote an orchard management plan.
