Introduction
Mile Cross Gardens is a public park created in the 1920s as part of a housing development.
www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list
One of five registered sites in the city of Norwich which form part of a set of public parks laid out in the 1920s and 1930s by the then Parks Superintendent, Captain A Sandys-Winsch.
DESCRIPTION
LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING
Mile Cross Gardens lie to the north of the city centre, on the west side of the main Aylsham Road which forms their eastern boundary. Losinga Crescent forms the north, south, and west boundaries and divides the Gardens from the rest of the Mile Cross housing estate to the west. The Gardens are divided by the robinia-lined Suckling Avenue which comes off the Aylsham Road and leads west into the estate.
ENTRANCES AND APPROACHES
The entrances to the Gardens lead north and south across broad grass verges which border the central axial Suckling Avenue.
GARDENS
A stone and timber pergola originally stood at the entrance to each garden (removed 1999, the stone bases remaining), the two plots being laid out as oval bowling greens. A perimeter path leads round each lawn between grass and the drystone walls supporting the shrubbery banks which enclose them. Semicircular bays for seats are cut into the walls at the centre of each side of the greens. At the far end of each garden stands a classical pavilion, originally flanked to either side by further stretches of pergola (stone bases remaining 1999).
REFERENCES
G Goreham, The parks and open spaces of Norwich (1961)
The Norwich Parks, (Norwich City Council internal report 1993)
Maps
A Sandys-Winsch, Plan of Mile Cross Gardens, 1928 (City Hall, Norwich)
OS 25" to 1 mile: 3rd edition published 1926
Description written: November 1999
Edited: March 2001
- Visitor Access, Directions & Contacts
Access contact details
This is a municipal site for general public use.
Owners
Norwich City Council
City Hall, St. Peter's Street, Norwich, NR2 1NH
- History
The following is from the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. For the most up-to-date Register entry, please visit the The National Heritage List for England (NHLE):
www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list
HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT
This pair of 1 acre (about 0.4 hectares) gardens form part of the Mile Cross housing development. One of the earliest of Norwich city's municipal housing schemes, the layout was prepared between 1925 and 1929 by Professor Adshead and implemented by Captain Sandys-Winsch, a protégé of Thomas Mawson. The intention of the gardens was to allow for two areas of public open space, one the mirror image of the other, which would form the centrepiece of the eastern entrance to the symmetrical estate. The gardens remain (1999) in the ownership of the local authority and are an integral part of the surrounding housing. The other four registered parks which make up the Sandys Winsch series are Wensum Park; Waterloo Park; Heigham Park; and Eaton Park.
Period
Early 20th Century (1901-1932)
- Features & Designations
Designations
The National Heritage List for England: Register of Parks and Gardens
- Reference: GD2752
- Grade: II
Features
- Housing Estate (featured building)
- Description: This is one of the earliest of Norwich city's municipal housing schemes.
- Earliest Date:
- Latest Date:
- Avenue
- Description: The Gardens are divided by the robinia-lined Suckling Avenue.
- Key Information
Type
Park
Purpose
Recreational/sport
Principal Building
Parks, Gardens And Urban Spaces
Period
Early 20th Century (1901-1932)
Survival
Extant
Hectares
0.4
Open to the public
Yes
- References
References
- {English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest}, (Swindon: English Heritage, 2008) [on CD-ROM] Historic England Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest