Thread: Mystery garden Nottingham

Hi - promised I would post my garden mystery. Until I retired in 2008 I worked as Grounds Manager at the University of Nottingham. On campus there was an overgrown area, a small hillside covered with sycamore trees near to the old Victorian House, Lenton Firs, originally built for Thomas Adams and later owned by Thomas Shipstone. It eventually became part of the University campus.

Around 1998 we started clearing this and found an immense rock garden with a pretty little derelict summer house. Over several years, it was restored and replanted and only then was it clear how huge the structure was.

At the time I spent quite a while trying to find out its history, when it was built, who designed and built it and maybe some old pictures. Despite all my searches I never found anything - surprising with a feature so extensive. One elderly man remembered it as a child and said his grandfather was a gardener there and they called it the Japanese garden. He recalled it still looking good for a family wedding in the 1930's.

Rock Garden Restoration - a set on Flickr

I can't post pics on here so a link to my flickr page will give you some idea of this. Anyone ever come across anything about it?

Ian

Thanks for the response - can't seem to open issue 4 beyond the first page.

The University Gardens Heritage Guide was written by Janet in conjunction with me and they are my pics so I am familiar with that.