Queen's Garden

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 National Heritage List for England (NHLE):

A public memorial garden to Queen Victoria, 1901-2, designed and laid out by Thomas Mawson.

Location, Area, Boundaries, Landform and Setting

Queen's Garden lies on the western edge of Sedbergh, fronting onto the main A684, and comprises a total of 0.95 ha. It is bounded on all sides by dry stone walls with the north side and parts of the east and west sides having triangular coping stones. The north side has a central gated entrance with narrow gated entrances to each side. The garden occupies a low knoll, the top of which forms the centre point of the garden.

Entrances and Approaches

The principal entrance to the park is from the north off the present A684. It is marked by an entrance with an ornate wrought iron gate between ashlar sandstone piers surmounted by ball finials. The entrance leads directly south along a straight central pathway towards the Queen Victoria Memorial. There are two further entrances, one to each side of the central entrance towards the corners of the north wall with similarly styled, but shorter, gates and piers. Each of these gates leads south along flanking straight paths. Other entrances are later breaches and that in the north-east corner now forms the principal entrance to the park in order to avoid traffic on the now busy A684.

Principal Building

The Queen Victoria Memorial Cross stands at the highest part of the garden on its central axis and clearly forms the centre point of the design. It is a 5 m high tapering Anglo-Celtic cross.

Gardens and Pleasure Grounds

The gardens have a formal symmetrical design with an axial path leading from the principal entrance, flanked on either side by straight secondary paths leading from each of the secondary entrances; all three paths run the full length of the garden and are linked by a transverse path at the south end. Within this geometric structure, other paths form a truncated figure of eight.

The axial path runs southwards from the main entrance flanked in part by low stone walls and specimen cedar trees mixed with a variety of maples. It rises to the highest part of the garden via a series of stone steps with flanking low walls. Before it reaches the memorial cross, stone steps also lead left and right along curving paths to the north and south forming the truncated figure of eight. The low knoll forming the highest point is partially revetted with stone and at its summit the memorial cross is situated within an octagonal gravelled space marked by low edging stones. The axial path continues to run southwards flanked by low yew hedges with at one point small rectangular recesses. After its junction with the south end of the figure of eight path system it approaches a large circular garden feature defined by high stone walls with rectangular coping and after passing through this, descends the knoll via a stone flight of steps to emerge at the south side of the park into what was once a formal planted area, now occupied by a large bowling green and public toilets. The site of a former bandstand is visible on the grassy bank to the left. Within the compartments created by the highly structured designs much of the original planting and open spaces survive including holly, cedar, a variety of maple, beech and conifers.

Reasons for Designation

This early C20 memorial garden to Queen Victoria is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Date: a good example of a public garden laid out as a memorial to Queen Victoria

* Intactness: the garden remains substantially intact and very closely reflects its original design

* Landscaping: although a relatively simple design, significant attention has been paid to the landscaping and enhancement of the natural topography

* Designer: Thomas Mawson is a renowned national figure and acknowledged as the founder of modern landscape architecture and garden design