Greenstructure and Urban Planning - Case Study - Sheffield &endash;UK - Botanical Gardens

© Anne R. Beer - 2003

Sheffield Botanical gardens

Sheffield Botanical Gardens

Full information about the restoration of the Sheffield Botanical Gardens can be found on internet

http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/projects/sbg/index.html

The following notes summarise information on that website

The Sheffield Botanical and Horticultural Society was formed in 1833 to promote both healthy recreation and self education, through the development of a botanical garden. They raised £7,500 through shares and bought 18 acres of south-facing farmland on the edge of the built up area. The Gardens were opened in1836 - on the first day over 12000 visited. The Gardens were open to the general public on four days a year; otherwise admission was limited to shareholders and annual subscribers. General free admission came about after the Town Trust assumed control of the Gardens in 1898.

The Gardens were laid out by Marnock a well known Victorian garden designer in the Gardenesque style and glass pavilions were added in a curvilinear glass structures.

There were repeated financial crises in the running of the gardens and the city's financial crises of the 1980s and 90s resulted in insufficient maintenance and the decay of the gardens. At the end of the 1990s the Friends of the Botanical gardens did much to stimulate efforts to regenerate the gardens and to bring money into the city to facilitate this. A £6.68 million project is now underway and the garden is onece more flourishing and attracting large numbers of people. Part-funded by £5 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the aim is to return the Botanical Gardens to their 19th century glory and showcase contemporary gardening techniques. The remaining matched funding is being raised by the Sheffield Botanical Gardens Trust, the Friends of the Botanical Gardens, Sheffield City Council, and individual and corporate donors.

The five-year restoration of the Botanical Gardens includes the restoration of the unique curvilinear glasshouses, built in 1836. The pavilions were reopened to the public on 19 April 2003, Easter Saturday.