KWAG Newsletters

KWAG regularly keeps its members up to date with newsletters. These detail our current progress, future plans, and titbits of the history of the park and house. Browse through  our back-issues here.

2024

KWAG February 2024 Newsletter 123

  • Archaeology in the View Garden: the report, preview of the Iron Bridge restoration, Professor Kenneth Panter: Forgotten Guardian of Kings Weston.

KWAG January  2024 Newsletter 122

  • More laurel clearance in the View Garden, Plans to uncover lost features on a mini-archaeology event, Doctor Who returns to Kings Weston for Christmas, Portrait of a Kings Weston Lady, The lost windmill on Kingsweston Hill.

2023

KWAG December 2023 Newsletter 121

  • Working on the walled garden, Volunteer dates for 2024, Iron Bridge on the move at last, An oddity from the View Garden, Reconstructing the walled gardens.

KWAG November 2023 Newsletter 120

  • Another successful Big Bulb Plant, Concrete plans for the Iron Bridge at last, Restoration plans for the lilypond, KWAG wins RHS award, The Kings Weston tornado of 1859, A regency painting discovered.

KWAG October 2023 Newsletter 119

  • Heritage open day report, Iron Bride progress update, Planning proposals at the house change, The walled Gardens in the 1950s.

KWAG September 2023 Newsletter 118

  • Last of the laurels for this summer, Important details for Heritage Open Day, KWAG leaflets republished, Iron Bridge progress, A new insight into Kings Weston as a WWI hospital, Henry Nicholls: a forgotten son of Kings Weston.

KWAG August 2023 Newsletter 117

  • Slow work on the laurels, Tree travails on the avenue, Heritage Open Day 2023, Updates from the estate, The Letters of Katherine Southwell.

KWAG July 2023 Newsletter 116

  • Summer work on the Penpole Wood laurels, Coffee House set to reopen, Explore Kings Weston Villa, Iron Bridge update, Kings Weston’s most ancient resident.

KWAG June 2023 Newsletter 115

  • Retracing steps in Penpole Wood, Wildflower meadows go from strength to strength, White Oak path reopened, Morality and scandal at Kings Weston Inn.

KWAG May 2023 Newsletter 114

  • Quarry Grove clearing III, Planning application updates, More evidence for Kings Weston in WWII, Kings Weston Garden City: a forgotten dream.

KWAG April 2023 Newsletter 113

  • More clearing the quarry grove, daffodils on the Echo path, a mystery WWII photo, reimagining the lost formal gardens.

KWAG March 2023 Newsletter 112

  • Clearing the quarry grove, Join our Shirehampton Walking tour, Georgian water cisterns, a recovered  fragment of stone urn.

KWAG February 2023 Newsletter 111

  • Tidying behind the terrace II, Cafe update, another opportunity to celebrate the estate, parks work tackles encroachment, A Shirehampton Park Painting

KWAG January 2023 Newsletter 110

  • Tidying behind the terrace I , Keeping ourselves afloat, Positive news on the iron bridge, Retracing our steps at Bristol archives.

2022

KWAG December 2022 Newsletter 109

  • Finishing off in Penpole Wood, sad news from Kings Weston cafe, more commitments to the iron bridge, Echo repairs, working party poster and dates for 2023, a pennant from Penpole.

KWAG November 2022 Newsletter 108

  • Big Bulb Plant report, Remembering Tim Denning – KWAG’s co-founder, More iron bridge protests, A view of Kings Weston hospital, Excavations at The Tump

KWAG October 2022 Newsletter 107

  • Heritage Open Day report, new steps in Penpole Wood, Painted from Penpole – a new discovery, Lawrence Weston – A legacy of estates

KWAG September 2022 Newsletter 106

  • Laurel trimming in Penpole Wood, preparing for Heritage Open Day, Fascinating Fives Court, What lies beneath – more on the archaeological parchmarks from the garden.

KWAG August 2022 Newsletter 105

  • Working Party – Back to the laurels, tidying around the Circle, What lies beneath – archaeological parchmarks from the garden, last fragments of Penpole Lodge.

KWAG July 2022 Newsletter 104

  • Working Party – A final flourish at Penpole Point, Formality restored to the Echo path, Mystery of the Kings Weston hospital magazine. The success of Penpole wildflowers.

KWAG June 2022 Newsletter 103

  • Working Party – Yet more at Penpole Point, Reviving our walking tours, Interior design at Kings Weston house.

KWAG May 2022 Newsletter 102

  • Working Party – Penpole campaign continues, Iron Bridge Listed building application lodged, Our future projects, Forest of Avon Volunteers, and road closures.

KWAG April 2022 Newsletter 101

  • Working Party – More Penpole Point Progress, ablaze with daffodils, your views asked for on Segways, The Last Squire’s silverware, Kings Weston and the Irish influence.

KWAG March 2022 Newsletter 100

  • Working Party – Bramble clearing at penpole Point, Iron Bridge breakthrough, Daffodils on the rise, Penpole Point: a place for the people, Penpole Poetry.

KWAG February 2022 Newsletter 99

  • Working Party – Laurel on the rustic pleasure walk, Iron Bridge update from Darren Jones MP, supporting the Forest of Avon Trust, Kings Weston features in a new book.

KWAG January 2022 Newsletter 98

  • Working Party – Picking around Penpole, Iron Bridge Update , Mosel mansion, Southwell’s architectural Odyssey.

2021

KWAG December 2021 Newsletter 97

  • Happy Christmas from KWAG . Penpole Plans for December, More on the Penpole Laurels, The regency recollections of Francoise Baron.

KWAG November 2021 Newsletter 96

  • Big Bulb Plant report, Iron Bridge protest update, more Penpole pictures, Mowing progress, wildflower seeds at the Echo, and the stone of Kings Weston house.

KWAG October 2021 Newsletter 95

  • Return to the laurels III, Doors Open Day review, A painting lost and found, keeping on top of access, and unraveling the historic stairs. .

KWAG August 2021 Newsletter 94

  • Return to the laurels II, Shirehampton Park painting, Tackling the tennis court (again), Silver plates of historic interest.

KWAG July 2021 Newsletter 93

  • Working Party returns to Laurels in penpole Wood, Iron Bridge update, Reassurance on tree works at the house, a Victorian View surfaces.

KWAG June 2021 Newsletter 92

  • Conserving Penpole Point II. National Grid money confirmed, Enigmatic sculptures in Penpole Woods, 1973 – the park under threat.

KWAG May 2021 Newsletter 91

  • Conservation work on Penpole Point, Iron Bridge in for planning, developments at Kings Weston house, working party dates confirmed, and the historic Penpole Dial.

KWAG April 2021 Newsletter 90

  • Keeping up appearances, bulb plant results, more anniversary planting, Exploring Longcombe.

KWAG March 2021 Newsletter 89

  • Celebrating our first decade: Part III – To Celebrate!

KWAG February 2021 Newsletter 88

  • Celebrating our first decade: Part II – To Enhance…

KWAG January 2021 Newsletter 87

  • Celebrating our first decade: Part I – To Conserve…

2020

KWAG December 2020 Newsletter 86

  • Christmas greetings, Provisional 2021 working party dates, Floodlight application poses threat, a Landscape from a romantic age, preparing the slopes for Spring .

KWAG November 2020 Newsletter 85

  • Big Bulb Plant report, Iron Bridge Update, Are you a Lark Ascending family, First photo and first plan of Kings Weston.

KWAG October 2020 Newsletter 83

  • More work in Echo Wood, Big Bulb Plant preparations, WWII artefacts uncovered, Fragments from the old Bristol Bridge.

KWAG September 2020 Newsletter 82

  • Straightening the Echo Path, Postcards from Kings Weston, Stone survivals from the Tudor house.

KWAG August 2020 Newsletter 81

  • Working parties recommence, work during the pandemic, developments with ownership at Kings Weston house, Historic travelling case and contents donated.

KWAG July 2020 Newsletter 80

  • Coronavirus pandemic and the park, Planning a return for working parties, cafe news, Family connections wit h the Kings Weston History.

KWAG May 2020 Newsletter 79

  • Coronavirus pandemic update, Spring newcomers in the woods, Ash die-back, WWII remembered, A Georgian view uncovered.

KWAG April 2020 Newsletter 78

  • Retracing our steps at the Echo, Coronavirus information, daffodils put on incredible display, past Easters at Penpole Point.

KWAG March 2020 Newsletter 77

  • Future Working Party projects, new painting of the parkland, bulbs ready to blow, Historic document surfaces at auction.

KWAG February 2020 Newsletter 76

  • Planting round Penpole Wood, more tidying, Restoration of Echo Walk, Keeping on top of the margins, Leeds visitors keen on Kings Weston, A Century of Lark Ascending.

KWAG January 2020 Newsletter 75

  • Tidying round Penpole Wood, new dates for history walking tours.

2019

KWAG December 2019 Newsletter 74

  • More working party progress in Penpole Wood, Iron Bridge update, Kingsweston Hill in history

KWAG November 2019 Newsletter 73

  • Big Bulb Plant success, Cutting through the rumours: News from the house, Up on the roof: A hidden history

KWAG October 2019 Newsletter 72

  • Doors Open Day report, iron Bridge News, New benches, Lost chandelier up for auction, notice board in the cafe, The Echo: Baroque Ruin.

KWAG September 2019 Newsletter 72

  • Tidying up on Penpole Point, Iron Bridge options,

KWAG August 2019 Newsletter 71

  • Retracing our steps with laurel clearance III, Parks Restructure, Penpole Lane Planning, Know Your Place website

KWAG July 2019 Newsletter 70

  • Retracing our steps with laurel clearance II,Important news on the Iron Bridge, more benches installed, Wildflowers run wild, Preserving the memory of Penpole Lodge

KWAG June 2019 Newsletter 69

  • Retracing our steps with laurel clearance, Statue remade, Possible Penpole Pond, a new sketch, John William Miles: Last in a political dynasty

KWAG May 2019 Newsletter 68

  • Final act above the quarry garden, Iron bridge planning update, Shirehampton Park: A park for the people

KWAG April 2019 Newsletter 67

  • Kings Weston and the Sea Mills centenary, Iron Bridge Planning application made. Urban buss flower meadow, and laurel clearance update

KWAG March 2019 Newsletter 66

  • Laurel clearance continues at the Quarry garden, Spring bulbs in flower, News updates in briet, New paintings come to light

KWAG February 2019 Newsletter 65

  • More above the quarry garden, Iron bridge update, Third edition of the estate guide published.

KWAG January 2019 Newsletter 64

  • Fall and rise of Kings Weston stables, keeping on top of the copses, metal detecting concerns, walking tour dates, Continuing above the quarry garden

2018

KWAG December 2018 Newsletter 63

  • Working party results above the Quarry Garden. planning and bridge updates, New bench on the South Walk, WWI images discovered.

KWAG November 2018 Newsletter 62

  • Bulb Plant report, more planning battles at Penpole Lane, Secret Nature Report, WWI Remembered.

KWAG October 2018 Newsletter 61

  • Doors Open Day report, Hinkley Point investment confirmed.

KWAG September 2018 Newsletter 60

  • Special working party project, Planning updates, archaeology at the Georgian Arbour

KWAG August 2018 Newsletter 59

  • completion of the yew walk restoration, preparing for Doors Open day, music at the house, balustrade completed, drought continues, plan to survey an historic site.

KWAG July 2018  Newsletter 58

  • Continuing on the yew walk, Penpole Lane update, Georgian boundary stone rediscovered, Photographic reminiscences from the 1960s

KWAG June 2018 Newsletter 57

  • Restoring the yew walk, developments on the Penpole Lane site, Fabulous wildflowers, The farms of the Kings Weston Estate

KWAG May 2018 Newsletter 56

  • Penpole Lane problems, Work around the Scout’s Chapel, news updates from around the estate, how yew trees tell us about the park’s history.

KWAG April 2018 Newsletter 55

  • Last stop for laurels, Replanting Penpole Wood, Southwell’s and the Slave Economy, Vanbrugh letter arrives in the archives, Sale of Home Farm moves to auction. .

KWAG March 2018 Newsletter 54 

  • More laurel clearance, Iron Bridge protest, some short updates, Walled Garden renovations, the Police’s time at Kings Weston house

KWAG February 2018 Newsletter 53

  • More laurel clearance, Iron Bridge protest, some short updates, Walled Garden renovations, the Police’s time at Kings Weston house

KWAG January 2018 Newsletter 52

  • Return to the laurels in Penpole Wood, Philip Miles portrait for sale, Home Guard in Home Park.

2017

KWAG December 2017 Newsletter 51

  • work on the meadow margins, National Award for chairman David Martyn, Great Court consultation, history of the verge plantation.

KWAG November 2017 Newsletter 50

  • Big bulb plant 2017,new bin installed, Iron Bridge update, Vanbrugh Exhibition at the library, the appeal of Penpole Point

KWAG October 2017 Newsletter 49

  • Finishing the Echo Wood, Garden works at the house complete, Growing concern on Penpole Lane, Tree graffitti

KWAG September 2017 Newsletter 48

  • More laurel clearance in Echo Wood, Iron Bridge update, Doors Open Day report, Last of the Miles’s

KWAG August 2017 Newsletter 47

  • Working party beyond the echo path, Historic Home Farm on the market, Sponsored benches update, New theories on Kings Weston’s Roman Landscape.

KWAG July 2017 Newsletter 46

  • More South Walk views, Help sponsor a bench, Brief update on Penpole Lane, The Echo Plinth and a Roman influence.

KWAG June 2017 Newsletter 45

  • Urgent help needed to combat panning on Penpole Lane,Making connections on the South Walk, Home Farm reveals hidden history, Forty years of resistance: Preserving Kings Weston

KWAG May 2017 Newsletter 44

  • Working party on the ancient avenue, Iron Bridge update, New steps at the Echo, Doctor Who at Kings Weston, Big Bulb Plant blooms, Beating the Bounds at Penpole Lodge

KWAG April 2017 Newsletter 43

  • Archaeology day results, walking tour announcement, tree planting, a new painting found, and spies on the Kings Weston estate!

KWAG March 2017 Newsletter 42

  • Update on garden developments, bulbs putting on a show, new steps plan, finalising laurel clearance.

KWAG February 2017 Newsletter 41

  • The Circle completed, forthcoming events, Lely painting returns, Newly found historic sketch

KWAG January 2017 Newsletter 40

  • More laurel clearance, working party dates 2017, evergreen shrubs, and Ordnance Survey points

2016

KWAG December Newsletter 39

  • More laurel clearance in Penpole Wood, developments around the house, 1950s school memories, A delve into the museum stores

KWAG November Newsletter 38

  • Big bulb plant report, KWAG is Five years old! Kings Weston takes centre stage at heritage forum conference, British Library paintings made public, Kings Weston as war hospital.

KWAG October Newsletter 37

  • 4th annual big bulb plat, Doors Open day report, Warning of forthcoming woodland work, Restored balustrade and garden news, Iron Bridge update.

KWAG September Newsletter 36

  • Natural Spacing below the house, Doctor Who at Kings Weston, Big Bulb Plant 2016, The Echo returns, More on the Echo.

KWAG August Newsletter 35

  • Working party progress at the Great Oak, development plans need feedback, News in brief, An intriguing Italian perspective, The statue and the “artificial cave”

KWAG July Newsletter 34 2016 

  • Working party progress at the walled garden glasshouse, missing link in Penpole woods path finished, Ongoing research on Wood Lodge, tree tracking, and the history of the Echo, and a stonework discovery at the glasshouse.

KWAG June Newsletter 33 2016

  • Working party progress at the walled garden, Walled garden open day success, The rise and fall of Queen Elizabeth Hospital School at Kings Weston.

KWAG May Newsletter 32 2016

  • Working party progress on laurels in Penpole Wood, first Walkfest report, National Listing for the war memorial, Felled Limes removed, Round the Back Front: a history of a forgotten part of the estate

KWAG April Newsletter 31 2016

  • Pushing back the laurels in Penpole Wood, sapling planting in the wood, preparing for the walled garden open day, tree felling on the lime avenue, historic photos of Scouts in Penpole Wood.

KWAG March Newsletter 30 2016

  • Laurel work for Forestry Commission in Penpole Wood, War memorial put forward for national Listing, Ethel Thomas Collection newly available at Bristol Archives.

KWAG February Newsletter 29 2016

  • Natural spacing and laurels along Penpole Avenue, Planning application in place for house gardens, KWAG cited in Council heritage strategy, Historic photos of Napier Miles at home.

KWAG  January Newsletter 28 2016

  • Bad news for the ancient lime avenue, natural spacing along Penpole Avenue, Georgian Viewing Terrace Wall Listed, A history of Shirehampton War Memorial.

2015

KWAG Newsletter 27 December 2015

  • Last of the lifting the curtain on the South Walk, Council tackle decades of encroachment, WWI Military tournament at Kings Weston, Vanbrugh’s castle gateway to the Great Court.

KWAG Newsletter 26 November 2015

  • The Iron Bridge badly damaged, Big Bulb plant at the concrete steps, Historic England concern over Listed buildings, new online archive heritage resources.

KWAG Newsletter 25 October 2015

  • Copleston Warre Bampfylde painting discovered, Lifting the curtain on the South Walk, Army Cadets and the Battle of Shirehampton, Doors open day and Capability Brown conference report, Riddle of the sphinx.

KWAG Newsletter 24 September 2015

  • Lifting the curtain at the concrete steps, Georgian Lily pond problems, WWII in the Home Park and recent finds.

KWAG Newsletter 23 August 2015

Heritage Angels Award nomination, Lifting the curtain on the South Walk IV, walking guide relaunched, Junior Park Run, Shirehampton pines and Penpole Scouts badge.

KWAG Newsletter 22 July 2015

  • Lifting the curtain on the South Walk III, Flowers bloom on the Echo Walk, house facade windows restored, Lady de Clifford’s flowers.

KWAG Newsletter 21 June 2015

  • Lifting the curtain II, tree walk report, terrace meadow returned,  dark revelations on the slavery history of the Southwell family.

KWAG Newsletter 20 May 2015

Lifting the curtain on the South Walk, incredible efforts in Jubilee Clearing, recent nature walks, bluebell riot, Wood Lodge drawing acquisition, historic carriage mystery solved.

KWAG Newsletter 19 April 2015

  • Penpole Wood steps complete, Kings Weston -Versailles of Bristol?

KWAG Newsletter 18 March 2015

  • Continuing work n Penpole Wood steps, bulb explosion, To conserve, enhance, and inspire: KWAG’s recent grant application work, scattered finds, archaeology on Penpole Woods steps.

KWAG Newsletter 17 Feb 2015

  • New map board installed, continuing work on Penpole Wood steps, new Kings Weston delivery group, Tudor House animation, Avonmouth: Unruly child of Kings Weston? 150th anniversary of the township.

KWAG Newsletter 16 Jan 2015

2014

KWAG Newsletter 15 December 2014

KWAG Newsletter 14 November 2014

KWAG Newsletter 13 October 2014

KWAG Newsletter 12 September 2014

2013

Since 2013 our Newsletters have changed format.

KWAG newsletter 11 – Autumn 2013

KWAG Newsletter 10 – Spring 2013

KWAG Newsletter 9 – Winter 2013

2012

KWAG newsletter 7 – Autumn 2012

KWAG Newsletter 6 – Summer 2012

KWAG Newsletter 5 – Spring 2012

KWAG Newsletter 4 – Winter 2012

2011

KWAG Newsletter 3 – Autumn 2011

KWAG Newsletter 2 – Summer 2011

KWAG Newsletter 1 – Spring 2011