Plantation Garden, Norwich

The Plantation Garden is a restored Victorian town garden located off Earlham Road, Norwich, Norfolk. As of 2016, visitors are asked to pay £2 to visit the garden, which is open daily throughout the year.

The Plantation Garden in January 2020

The garden

The Plantation Garden is a restored Victorian town garden, maintained by volunteers, located in a former chalk mine in Norwich.[1] It includes a gothic fountain, flower beds, lawns, woodland walkways, rustic bridge, Italianate terrace, ‘Medieval’ terrace wall; and hundreds of architectural details fashionable in the mid 19th century. This idiosyncratic creation was described by The Telegraph as "a tycoon's folly".[2]

History

The Plantation Garden, located at 4 Earlham Road, Norwich,[3] was established 140 years ago in a 3-acre (12,000 m2) abandoned chalk quarry by Henry Trevor, a Norwich shopkeeper.[4] Over a period of forty years the gardens became a showpiece that featured terraces, water features and rockeries surrounded by a large fountain, all styled on Italian Renaissance designs. It once featured eight glasshouses.[3] The design may have been influenced by the architect Edward Boardman, who worked for Trevor on other projects.[5]

After Henry Trevor died in 1897, the gardens slowly became neglected.[3] After falling into complete disrepair after the Second World War, the garden was abandoned until 1980, when the Plantation Garden Preservation Trust was set up, with the aim of rescuing the garden and keeping it open in a restored state for the public to access.[3] The art historian, Roy Strong, is a patron of the trust.[6]

In April 2016, the garden was forced to close temporarily as a result of structural damage to the terrace wall, following the collapse of an old mining tunnel in Earlham Road.[7] The garden reopened on 23 April 2016.[8] After three sinkholes opened up near the garden, Norwich City Council arranged to carry out underground probing work at the site, which was planned for 31 January 2017. Entrances to the garden were sealed off on 28 January.[9] After further safety tests the garden reopened to the public on 15 March 2017.

References
  1. "The Trust". The Plantation Garden. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  2. Daily Telegraph, 24 August 2015 (registration required)
  3. Pyner, Tim (March 2004). "The Plantation Garden, Norwich". The British Pteridological Society. p. 222. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  4. Adam, Sheila (2009). The Plantation Garden Norwich. Plantation Garden Preservation Trust, 2nd edition. p. 4
  5. Adam, Sheila (2009). The Plantation Garden Norwich. Plantation Garden Preservation Trust, 2nd edition. p. 8
  6. Adam, Sheila (2009). The Plantation Garden Norwich. Plantation Garden Preservation Trust, 2nd edition. p. 3.
  7. Eastern Daily Press, 9 April 2016
  8. "Historic garden reopens after sinkhole forces it to close". ITV. 23 April 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  9. Luke Powell (26 January 2017). "Norwich City Council to carry out underground probing of Plantation Garden following sinkhole concerns". Norwich Evening News. Retrieved 26 January 2017.

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