The Hundred Trial…

The studio was shortlisted entry for this Becontree Corner Plots Project, added made in collaboration with Hayhurst & Co. The project takes its inspiration from Becontree’s past as an ancient Hundred.

‘The Hundred Trail’, is conceived as a series of garden allotments, dispersed along a route which runs from one end of the historic boundary at the edge of The Gores, up to the White House, and beyond.

The trail is imagined as a kind of treasure hunt in which each corner plot consists of planters, which take their form from those of the ancient hundred and incorporate in their walls found objects gathered by the community.

Each site is named after a member of the community from recent history: a grandmother, a grandfather…a parent. As such the project draws on and celebrates the diverse histories contained in the story of Becontree with these personal stories, retrieved from local collective memory. It is proposed that these are shared at public openings and storytelling performances at each site.

Biodiversity and culinary diversity meet in the planters which are conceived as mini allotments, home to edible plants from parts of the globe which represent the diversity of the community. They present an opportunity for local primary school children and community groups to participate in planting and harvesting, and also the possibility of intergenerational cooking sessions, where culinary knowledge is shared.

‘The Hundred Trail’ thus represents multiple layers of Becontree’s past and present thus contributing to the creation of a new legacy.