Stonehill House is in the neighbouring parish of Drayton, but with a fence that runs along the south of Abingdon. There was an open day today, with a chance to view the extensive grounds and hear how the current owner would like to see them developed.

One of the guides taking us round said it was an excellent place to watch badgers, bats and deer, and there is a fine wild flower meadow. The sites of the badger sets were very clear to see.

The field separating the grounds of Stonehill House from Abingdon is the one that a developer is currently looking to build 160 houses. That would effectively mean that there would no longer be fields between houses in Abingdon and Drayton.

The owners have plans to create a community garden, and area of wildlife conservation on this site.  A representative from the Bridewell Organic Gardens charity near Witney spoke about how they would like to develop a therapeutic gardening project at Stonehill House – for people who have experienced mental ill-health difficulties.

There will be another Open Day, about May next year, to allow more local people to find out more about all the plans for the grounds of Stonehill House.