Woodbridge Meadow
Before land development in this part of the town there was an extensive water meadows along this stretch of the river but this has long since been lost. The local council and environment groups have tried to give the riverbank here some normality again through some imaginative landscaping and art projects, although they will never overcome the noise and visual intrusion imposed by such an industrious area.
All of the land described as Woodbridge Meadow covers 6 hectares which includes the industrial estate and open areas and is owned by Guildford Borough Council, with the exception of a small plot at the southern end owned by Thames Water for water extraction. The site is delineated by the Woodbridge Road (A25) to the north, the Guildford via Cobham railway embankment to the south, the London to Portsmouth main line railway to the west and the River Wey frontage to the east.
As part of a re-development plan devised in 2004 the council’s vision is to ‘create a high quality work environment for those employed at Woodbridge Meadows, and a worthy piece of townscape that constitutes a good place to visit and pass through', and want to attract development to enhance the area.
The land immediately adjacent to the river was in 1607 documented as The Lees Meadow and formed part of Lodge Farm, which owned many of the adjacent fields that have long since been built over. Lees Meadow survived the building of the Victorian viaduct and Woodbridge Park (now Wickes) but its appearance as a meadow had long since changed as trees were planted and became established.
However the first indication that something has changed are the sculptures that have been created here. As part of a project to restore the meadow many of the trees were felled and their stumps or fallen logs were used for wood carvings. The land is also being managed to prevent re-growth of the trees with tall grasses and other plants being cut after the many wildflowers that have taken root have flowered. The meadow is now becoming an increasingly diverse wildlife habitat with populations of birds, insects, mice and grass shrews having established themselves here. Plants include buttercups, purple knapweed, birds-foot trefoil and blue speedwells.
Under the guidance of Adam Owen, the Trees and Countryside Manager for the council, a team of wood carvers the Treepirates spent six weeks in 2008 creating over 20 pieces of artwork from the tree stumps and logs left over from the clearance work. These include giant feet, Herne the Hunter, a dragonfly, elfin faces carved high up in the trees and a shipwreck.
In the small pay-and-display car park in the shadow of the towering railway viaduct a local sculptor has created an imaginative touch to the mundane height barrier that guards its entrance. Richard Farrington has installed a replica viaduct railway across the barrier complete with a scale replica of a Drummond 7 engine.