Our home town (Carshalton), used to be the Lavender growing region of the world. In the 19th Century Carshalton, Wallington, Mitcham and Sutton in July would be a sea of Lavender. At the end of the 1990's, some of the Original fields were replanted with Lavender which was Originally grown in Carshalton, a unique variety which thrives in Carshalton Soil (the chalky, well drained soil of the North Surrey Downs) and since 2002, Naturallythinking has been exclusively involved with Carshalton Lavender creating the Carshalton Lavender products from the oil distilled on site here in Carshalton. The money from the oil funds the Carshalton Lavender project, which is a community project.

Why did Carshalton Lavender die out?

Carshalton is only 12 miles from the centre of London. With the expansion of London in the interwar period the Lavender fields slowly started to become housing developments until very little of the Lavender remained - the history can be found in many of the road names in and around Carshalton. Luckily however some fields did remain and it is these fields along with the dedicated work of volunteers and enthusiasts which managed to reclassify all the Lavender species and bring back Original Carshalton Lavender in our Lavender field in Carshalton.

What makes Carshalton Lavender so Special?

Even the French admit Carshalton Lavender is the finest Lavender in the world. A combination of variety, the chalk soil conditions and climate make for a truly remarkable Lavender which is both deep and herbaceous and has wonderful floral top notes. The Esther levels (often a mark of the purity and quality of Lavender) often exceed the most expensive high altitude Lavenders available and makes for a truly remarkable oil.

About the Lavender field and Redevelopment

Three acres of disused allotments have been transformed into lavender pastures in the London Borough of Sutton. The changes at the site, which was formerly subject to fly tipping, were originally initiated by environmental organisation, BioRegional Development Group, with help from a partnership of other organisation and volunteers. They all collaborated towards the regeneration of the environment and community.

The lavender project has its roots in a long-term collaboration with local prison HMP Downview. Cuttings of the traditional varieties of the area were collected from the public and grown in an ambitious horticulture project within the prison, providing prisoners with useful skills. Once ready for planting, after two or three years, prisoners on day-release helped BioRegional staff clear and plant up disused allotments.

The harvest has been a popular attraction since 1999 with the flower crop growing larger every year. In 2001 an ingenious harvesting solution was found in the form of a small scale “Heritage Harvester”. The fabulous contraption was custom built from scrap and recycled materials by an engineering team from Cranfield University, led by Dr James Brighton, consultant engineer to Channel 4’s "Scrap-heap Challenge” and “Junkyard Wars". The Heritage Harvester was specially designed to harvest narrow rows of lavender without damaging the plants, and demonstrates good re-use of materials from second-hand agricultural machines, a rotator and a quad bike.

The harvested lavender is distilled into pure essential oil and is used exclusively in Carshalton Lavender products produced by Naturallythinking. The funds from the purchase of the Carshalton Lavender Oil go directly back into funding the community project run by Carshalton Lavender

Carshalton Lavender was formed to manage the field and related events, cross-pollinating the varied interests and talents of artists, craftsmen, aromatherapists, allotment holders, brownies, organic gardeners, lavender lovers, conservationists, historians, and outdoor volunteers.

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