Phone +44 7504 545810 | ||
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Address 4 Earlham Rd, Norwich NR2 3DB, UK Similar Bridewell Museum, RAF Air Defence Radar Mu, City of Norwich Aviation, St John the Baptist Cathedral, Holt Country Park Profiles | ||
Plantation garden norwich
The Plantation Garden is a restored Victorian town garden located in Earlham Road, Norwich, Norfolk. As of 2016, visitors are charged a £2 entrance fee. The garden is open daily throughout the year.
Contents
The garden
The Plantation Garden is a restored Victorian town garden located in a former chalk mine in Norwich. 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 has been described as "a tycoon's folly".
History
The garden was established 140 years ago in a 3-acre (12,000 m2) abandoned chalk quarry by Henry Trevor, a Norwich shopkeeper. The design may have been influenced by Edward Boardman who worked for Trevor on other projects.
After falling into disrepair after the Second World War, the garden was effectively abandoned until 1980, when the Plantation Garden Preservation Trust was set up, with the aim of maintaining the garden and keeping it open for public access. The art historian, Roy Strong, is a patron of the trust.
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. The garden reopened on 23 April 2016.
After three sinkholes opened up near the garden, Norwich City Council is to carry out underground probing work at the site, which is planned for 31 January 2017. Entrances to the garden will be sealed off on 28 January.