🌼 Celebrating 100 Years of Beekeeping at Winchester

Sparsholt College is buzzing with excitement as we mark the 100th anniversary of the Winchester and District Beekeeping Association (WDBKA). To celebrate, a Tilia cordata ‘Winter Orange’ tree has been planted near the library – a beautiful way to honour the milestone while providing excellent forage for our bees. Even the hives in the orchard, 500m away, will benefit!

This special tree was donated jointly by WDBKA and the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA), who are themselves celebrating 150 years of supporting beekeepers across the country.

🐝 Beekeeping: A Part of Our Heritage

Sparsholt has a proud history of beekeeping education stretching back to the college’s earliest days. Continuing this tradition, we have recently installed a Kenyan Top Bar Hive for demonstration purposes.

This style of hive has a special connection to Sparsholt – it was originally developed right here in 1964 by John Cosburn, Jack Treadwell, and Peter Petersen, and it remains one of the most widely used hive designs in Africa today.

Our new demonstration hive was crafted by David Holloway, Partnership Manager for the charity Bees Abroad. This organisation helps rural African communities produce and sell honey, providing families with an income that can cover essentials such as school fees and medical care. Proceeds from Sparsholt honey sales help fund this important work.

👀 Learn More

We will soon install an information board about the Kenyan Top Bar Hive and its unique link to Sparsholt College.

In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about our bees, hives, or beekeeping activities, contact our senior beekeeper:

📧 Peter George – Peter.George@sparsholtservices.ac.uk