Butterfly meadow to be installed at Sandringham for the Norfolk Hospice

Butterfly meadow to be installed at Sandringham for the Norfolk Hospice
Nigel Barnett of Fransham Forge with the steel butterfly prototype

1,500 blue butterflies made by a local craftsman will be installed in the gardens.

This summer during the Platinum Jubilee year, hundreds of steel blue butterflies will be installed in the gardens of Sandringham House in a collaborative project with The Norfolk Hospice Tapping House and the Royal Sandringham Estate.

1,500 butterflies will be crafted by local blacksmith Nigel Barnett of Fransham Forge, Great Fransham and painted blue in the style of the Silver-studded Blue butterfly, a species which can be found in Norfolk. They are now available to reserve for a suggested donation of £25 per butterfly.

The Butterfly Meadow is a remembrance campaign by The Norfolk Hospice which will echo the poppy installation at the Tower of London. The butterfly will be affixed to a steel pole so they can be easily planted in the ground and they will measure approximately six inches wide and three-foot-high.

It is open to everyone, not just those whose family members were cared for by the Hospice. The Norfolk Hospice are in independent registered charity based in the village of Hillington, located just four miles from the Sandringham Estate.

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Hospice Nursing Staff L-R: Topaz Fuller, Rachel Ash, Kerry Collison with a prototype of the steel butterfly

The Butterfly Meadow will be installed in the Gardens of Sandringham House from July 16th and the display will be open to visitors until September 1st. Once the installation closes, donors will be able to collect their butterfly from The Norfolk Hospice.

Lyndsay Carter, Chief Executive at The Norfolk Hospice, said: “We are extremely grateful for the tremendous support from the Sandringham Estate who are very kindly allowing us to use their beautiful Gardens as the location for the installation and for Fransham Forge for creating such a lovely keepsake.

“The butterflies are a beautiful way to remember someone special to you and commemorate their life. They may have been cared for by The Norfolk Hospice, they might have been lost to Covid-19, or they may simply be someone very special to you. We hope that the public get behind this campaign and remember their loved ones and support the vital work of the Hospice at the same time.

“The Butterfly Meadow with the backdrop of Sandringham House will be a spectacular scene and we can’t wait to see the installation this summer.”

You can reserve a butterfly for a donation online at www.norfolkhospice.org.uk/butt... or by calling The Norfolk Hospice on 01485 601701.

For Sandringham House opening days and times this summer, please see www.sandringhamestate.co.uk

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