When the Abbey Church was restored in the year 2000, the Abbey commissioned a landscape report. This delved into the history of the abbey property from the point of view of history, archaeology, and nature.

Our estate is cut in two by a mediaeval right of way, which has a secure fence hidden in its hedge. In the fields on the abbey side we keep sheep, but the fields on the other side were not put to use.

Over the last couple of years the Friends of Farnborough Abbey have done a magnificent job in establishing much-needed allotments for local people here. Already a sorry-looking field has turned into a beautiful and cared-for area, allowing local people to enjoy something of the peace and beauty of the Abbey and its environs.

Speaking at the opening, the abbot likened the allotment field to the chaos and murky waters at the start of the Bible, from which God brought order and beauty. He congratulated the enthusiastic locals on their co-operation with God’s work of  creation, and cut the ribbon to declare the Jubilee Allotments open – on the day of the the Queen’s 60th anniversary of Coronation.