
The Syston allotments are over 100 years old. Vegetable plots have been tended on the same 7 acre site on Upper Church Street, in the very centre of the town since before 1900. They’ve quietly existed without fanfare, within the sound of St Peter & St Paul’s church bells, which help signal when it’s time to down tools.
Allotments originated hundreds of years ago, as small divisions of land in Anglo Saxon times. In the 20th Century they became essential in times of war and food shortage. In the 21st Century allotments are valued for traditional use and leisure, as well as now perhaps providing an alternative for modern austerity-related hardships and decreasing garden sizes, as they provide space for those who do not have gardens, or don’t have space for a vegetable patch. They can help reduce food costs by providing enough food for storage. Throughout all the centuries, allotments have also been enjoyable places for the gardener and their families.