Family Tree
Grounds Maintenance & Construction
Patios and decking, garden upkeep and fencing in Shiplake and Lower Shiplake, from a family business about twelve miles north-west in Wallingford.
Shiplake is about twelve miles south-east of our base in Wallingford — around half an hour by road — with Henley-on-Thames under three miles to the north.
Most people in the parish live in Lower Shiplake rather than the small old village, and the ground is mapped differently in each. We take on patios, decking and garden builds, regular maintenance, and fencing and gates in both.
Patios · decking · garden builds
New patios, paths and decking, plus sleeper beds, brickwork and full garden makeovers. Shiplake is mapped on river sand and gravel over chalk, ground that typically drains freely.
More on constructionMowing · hedges · clearance
Regular mowing, hedge-cutting, weeding and clearance, regularly or just once, plus new lawns laid from turf, grown from seed or in artificial grass. Light, gravelly soils drain quickly after rain or watering, the RHS notes.
More on garden maintenanceCloseboard · panels · gates
Closeboard and panel fencing, gates and post and rail, for gardens and for land. With no conservation area within a kilometre, the standard rules apply: up to two metres without planning permission, or one metre next to a road.
More on fencingFrom Shiplake we also cover Lower Shiplake to the north-east, Binfield Heath to the west, Sonning Eye to the south-west, and Dunsden Green.
Henley-on-Thames is to the north, under three miles away, and Sonning Common is under four.
The team came so quickly when I couldn’t find anyone else and they did a fantastic job. The whole job was done before I even got back from the school run and they left nothing behind! Just a beautifully trimmed wisteria Thanks so much
We have used FamilyTree for our large lawn for almost a full season. They are a really pleasant, flexible and reliable team, who do a good job.
Great job and reasonable price
Boyn Hill Gravel · chalk · Kempton Park Gravel
The village’s mapped centre is on river sand and gravel — the Boyn Hill Gravel — over chalk, ground that typically drains freely. Alluvium is mapped within half a kilometre, towards the river.
Lower Shiplake, where most of the parish’s people live, is mapped on a different river gravel, the Kempton Park Gravel, close to the Thames. Soil types can shift over surprisingly short distances, so a garden in one may not behave like a garden in the other.
No conservation area · outside the Chilterns
No conservation area lies within a kilometre of the village’s mapped centre, or of Lower Shiplake’s. Shiplake is outside the Chilterns National Landscape, about 0.8 km from the boundary, with only about 3% of the parish inside it. So the standard householder rules apply across most of the parish.
A new fence, wall or gate up to two metres high — one metre next to a road — doesn’t usually need planning permission. In a front garden, new paving over five square metres needs to be permeable, or drain to a lawn or border, to avoid needing permission.
Sources: British Geological Survey, Natural England and planning.data.gov.uk (open data); the Planning Portal, GOV.UK and the RHS. The Planning Portal is a guide — your council has the final word for your address.
Yes, both Shiplake and Lower Shiplake. It’s about twelve miles from our base in Wallingford, around half an hour by road. Give us a call or a WhatsApp on 07736 650477.
The old village is mapped on river sand and gravel over chalk, which typically drains freely. Lower Shiplake is on a different river gravel, closer to the Thames, and soil can change markedly over a short distance.
No to both at the village’s mapped centre. The Chilterns National Landscape boundary is about 0.8 km away and only about 3% of the parish is inside it, and there’s no conservation area within a kilometre. The standard householder rules apply across most of the parish.
Yes — Lower Shiplake, Binfield Heath, Dunsden Green and Sonning Eye, plus Henley-on-Thames and Sonning Common.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch — by phone, WhatsApp or email, or through the enquiry form on our home page.
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