Heavy horses return to Dukes Meadows

Tom Nixon with horses Percy and Archie

Preparing the ground to sew wildflower meadows

Heavy Horses returned to Dukes Meadows on Monday to mow the field beside Riverside Drive, as part of a project led by Dukes Meadows Trust to establish a wildflower meadow on the field.

Meadows have declined by 97% since the 1930s. They support a wide range of insects and are effective at absorbing CO2.

The Trust has experience in creating meadows. In 2012, using gravel donated by Barrett Homes, the Trust filled the old paddling pools and sewed wildflowers. The gravel created the perfect low nutrient, free draining environment for wildflowers to thrive.

“The key to sustaining a meadow is getting and keeping the soil fertility low to prevent more vigorous grasses and perennials outcompeting the wildflowers,” says Trust Director Kathleeen Healy.

“With help from the Council’s contractor Lampton Greenspace, the field beside Riverside Drive was cut and the arisings collected in 2023 and 2024. That has reduced the fertility.

“Lampton was, unfortunately, unable to assist last year, so we were looking for another contractor to take it on. I’d heard of Oakwood. They mow in Bushy Park and Petersham Meadows using Clydesdale horses which has many benefits.

Meadow in bloom where the old paddling pools used to be

“The horses don’t compact the soil the way a heavy tractor would, and it is a more environmentally friendly and quieter way to do the work. Heavy horses, once common, are becoming endangered and Oakwood are keeping the breeds going. It’s great to support that”, said Kathleen.

For all of those reasons the use of heavy horses is becoming more popular again. Chiswick House Trust has also used horses to carry out essential woodland maintenance.

They used shire horses from Operation Centaur, based at Hampton Court Palace and Royal Richmond Park, who they had employed previously to cut meadows and large areas of grassland.

READ ALSO: Chiswick House uses shire horses to work in the Gardens

Dukes Meadows will be inviting the heavy horses back in the autumn to do a further cut and to harrow and seed the area.

“We’ll use a mix of annuals and perennials and hope the meadow will bloom next summer”, says Kathleen.

“Meadows are notoriously difficult to establish and sustain, but we’re going to give it our best shot working with Oakwood. The meadow will need to be cut, and the arisings gathered up each year”.

The Trust receives no Council funding. It raises revenue for projects and to maintain areas of the park, including the Splash Pool, through its social enterprises the Sunday Food Market and Artists’ Studios.

Much of its work is done by volunteers. The Trust welcomes new volunteers. Details on its website:

dukesmeadowstrust.org