Keeper of the Walled Garden - Hillsborough Castle
Historic Royal Palaces is the independent charity that looks after the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace, the Banqueting House, Kew Palace and Hillsborough Castle & Gardens.
Hillsborough Castle is a working Royal Residence, the base for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and a great place for the public to visit. Historic Royal Palaces’ exciting landmark project will see this exquisite and fascinating historic property open its doors to everyone. Our ambitious programme of conservation, re-presentation and re-imagination, will make Hillsborough Castle and Gardens a place for discovery, delight, and learning for visitors of all ages. The transformation has begun with work on an inspirational Clore Learning Centre, the conversion of the Stableyard into an elegant visitor facility and the addition of a car and coach park with access directly from the A1. The Castle and Gardens will be closed for the re-presentation of the magnificent State Rooms, re-opening in July 2018. Visitors will then be welcomed to visit the elegant Castle and lovely Gardens, with new features to see almost every month, culminating in the opening of the beautiful Walled Garden and visitor facilities in 2019.
We are looking for an experienced, hands-on and highly skilled gardener to take control of the new Walled Garden, be instrumental in its construction and start the production of fruit and vegetables to a royal standard.
Applicants will need to have a strong background in both soft and top fruit, a proven track record in vegetable growing with a positive approach to interpreting the garden to a wide range of visitors is essential, as is the ability to lead team members, volunteers and school groups in managing the garden.
We would expect you to have formal qualifications that support your expertise and experience of cultivating and propagating fruit and vegetables; experience of teaching and demonstrating gardening skills to others and experience of maintaining records with historical accuracy.
You would also need to demonstrate experience of managing and leading a team, have good knowledge of horticulture, modern equipment and machinery. A full clean driving license is essential as are good IT skills
This vacancy is closed to applications.
