Pomona Gardens (also known as Cornbrook Strawberry Gardens)

Introduction

Pomona Gardens was a public pleasure grounds. The gardens were originally known as the Cornbrook Strawberry Gardens. They were in existence before the mid-19th-century and occupied a site close to the Bridgewater Canal next to Chester Road at Cornbrook. The grounds were purchased and developed by James Reilly in 1868 and included many attractions such as a ballroom and agricultural halls. The gardens were closed in the 1880s as a result of the land being acquired for the extension of the docks. Reilly was eventually paid £70,352 in compensation for the twenty one acre site.