On this page:
- DATES OF FRIENDS GARDENING SATURDAYS.
- The History of the Gardens
- The amended and now approved Constitution
- A report of the Special meeting on May 19th. 2009
These young people worked hard and said they enjoyed it. We need more volunteers,young or old to join in this part of the work.
New!!!
DATES OF FRIENDS GARDENING SATURDAYS.
10.00AM – 12.00 MIDDAY.
Please bring a hand trowel and fork and your own protective clothing. We meet the third Saturday in each month, at the Spa Gardens steps by the theatre.
SATURDAY APRIL 16TH 2011
SATURDAY MAY 21ST 2011
SATURDAY JUNE 18TH 2011
SATURDAY JULY 16TH 2011
SATURDAY AUGUST 20TH 2011
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 17TH 2011
AWARD!
The great news is that the Heritage Lottery Fund have awarded the Suffolk Coastal District Council the full amount the asked for for the preliminary work leading up - we hope - to an award for the whole regeneration process. The process of preparing is technical and will take quite a long time, often nothing much will seem to be happening, but work is going on behind the scenes!!
The Friends are, naturally delighted that this has come to be.
The Special meeting on 19th May 2009
Click HERE to find out what happened
Wildlife in the Gardens...
We have another newly discovered unusual creature [no picture yet!]
John Davies wrote to Caroline Driver:-
"By coincidence I took a call from the Chairman of the Suffolk Amphibian & Reptile Group who has discovered European Wall Lizards in the Seafront Gardens behind the Spa Pavilion. Photo attached.
Wall Lizards are probably not native to the UK but appear to be spreading throughout the south of England following various introductions. This is the only place they have been found in Suffolk & possibly even East Anglia.
They could become one of the special features in the Seafront gardens. No doubt they will be picked up during the surveys.
-did you even know of this creature??
We have lots of invertebrate creatures in the gardens, before work is carried out there has to be a survey of the effects of work on these creatures, and other wildlife.
This will involve
Habitat scoping by a regional expert followed by
Detailed and targeted surveys for key species (national and regional rarities/BAP species) identified as being potentially present.
Other wildlife
We were told by Dr. Lee in the spring about unusual insects in the gardens:
“Felixstowe Seafront Gardens lies in a part of the UK where the combination of light sandy soils, warm winter and summer temperatures, and a dry climate combine to create optimum conditions for a number of species on invertebrate which are nationally uncommon. The Gardens offer ideal habitat in that there are areas sand cliff and light soils with a south-easterly or easterly aspect, which warm up rapidly in the mornings and are thus ideal for soil-nest hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps) in particular. For example it would seem that the BAP solitary wasp Cerceris quinquefasciata is a distinct possibility but it would not be possible to determine presence without a visit at the appropriate flight period."
HISTORY of the gardens
It is not only local historians who will be interested in this article about how we got our Seafront Gardens, and details about specific items and locations within the overall site.
Much of the gardens now forming the Felixstowe Seafront Gardens are believed to have originated piecemeal during the 18th century as houses along the seafront were built and embellished by the landed gentry, such as Lord and Lady Harland, Philip Thickness, Sir Samuel Fludyer and much later FT Cobbold.
Royal Visit boosts tourism
A visit to the town by the then German Imperial family in 1891 boosted tourism to the area. This, coupled, with the famous ‘Felixstowe Spa’, providing high quality spa water, made Felixstowe a fashionable destination. In place, at this time, were the Hamilton Gardens along the cliff top, the Town Hall Gardens and the steep ivy-clad terraces edging South Beach Mansion. The Cliff Shelter, located on the upper terrace of the Town Hall Garden, is described as ‘…one of the earliest municipal facilities to be provided for the holidaymaker ... erected in 1899 at a cost to the urban district council of £2,759. Set into the cliff between Bent Hill and Convalescent Hill, it contained a tea room and public conveniences.’ Felixstowe – A Pictorial History, Robert Malster, Phillimore and Co. 1992.
Council Acts - promenade and sea-wall built
To build on this success the Urban District Council passed the Felixstowe and Walton Improvement Act in 1902 to develop the seafront further. A promenade and granite sea wall were completed in 1904 whilst in parallel, gardens belonging to the Felix Hotel (now Harvest House) were extended and improved in 1903 by the then owner of the hotel, the Hon D Tollemache.
Bandstand and first Pavilion
A bandstand was erected in the Spa Gardens in 1907 and the first Spa Pavilion named the ‘New Floral Hall’ was built in 1909 accompanied by impressive terraced gardens laid out by local horticulture and landscape company, Notcutts. At this time it is thought the construction of the Pram Walk beneath South Beach Mansions was constructed, to enable visitors a grand vista down to the Spa Pavilion.
The dripping well
A Dripping Well by the Spa building was a huge attraction and made use of the natural spa water seeping through the cliffs. The Dripping Well is still in place although in a neglected state.[see note below about its construction] In 1910 the Serpentine Steps and associated Round Shelter were completed. These proved a garden highlight to be featured in many subsequent postcards.
Expensive style - exotics
Records indicate that a considerable amount of money was lavished on the grounds of both The Lodge and Vernon Villa, private properties situated along the sea front, and that the same style of exuberant planting was reflected in the public gardens. The Gardens at this time were of a very exotic and distinctive nature, highlighting the fashion at the time for showcasing unique and exotic planting (much acquired from overseas, and nurtured in hot houses), and highly decorative landscape works.
More paths built
In 1919, further extensive landscape works were undertaken by George Burrows, who was an architect for the Urban District Council. Steps and paths were created to provide public access from the top of the cliff at Hamilton Gardens (formerly Hamilton Terrace) to the gardens on the seafront. The well known Zig Zag steps were lost at this time. This period coincided with an increase in visitor numbers to Felixstowe as the resort’s popularity as a holiday destination grew.
New Cliff Gardens, 1928
Despite comprehensive photographic records, few original early drawings or plans for the Gardens have been uncovered. Old sketch proposals dating back to 1919 and drawn by Burrows for the Urban District Council could well provide a useful starting point on which to base any future restoration work.
The New Cliff Gardens (now named Cliff House Terrace and Gardens) below the Cliff House Tea rooms were laid out and opened by the Mayor of London in 1928. Adjacent to these gardens is the Long Shelter Terrace and Gardens, where the Long Shelter was situated, together with a large symmetrical parterre, sunken Italian garden, archway and pond. All but the Long Shelter (recently demolished on health and safety grounds) remain today.
Spa Pavilion 1939 - blitzed
A new Spa Pavilion was completed in 1939 but was promptly destroyed by a bomb in 1941. A third Pavilion on the site was opened in 1957. Having hosted such acts as Jimi Hendrix and The Who the Spa Pavilion remains a very popular venue to this day – the heart of the Seafront Gardens.
The Felix Hotel / Harvest House
In parallel to the development of the Seafront Gardens, the Felix Hotel had developed its own gardens, which incorporated its portion of the cliff and seafront. At one point, sea water was pumped up to the hotel for the use of guests. The pump house remains in-situ today. The Felix Hotel was sold and subsequently renamed Harvest House and used by Fisons as their headquarters.
Since 1952 ...
In 1952, Fisons donated their gardens to the Urban District Council, bringing the total area of the Seafront Gardens to its current 3ha. Harvest House was converted to apartments. Essential cliff stabilisation work and the loss of the Cliff Shelter (in the Town Hall Garden) and the Long Shelter for safety reasons are the only major works undertaken to the Gardens in the last 50 years. The Gardens, therefore, represent a rare cross section of over 100 years of gardening trends as well as portrait of Felixstowe’s historical development.
NOTE:
"PULHAMITE"
James Pulham (1793 – 1838), the eminent landscape gardener, and the first of the four Jameses behind the company Pulham and Son (that operated from the early 1800s to c.1940), lived and worked within the Felixstowe area. Pulham's gardens usually consisted of the construction of ‘Rock Gardens’, which were generally made from natural stone but this material was not always economically available. The Pulhams would literally ‘build their own’ building material by making heaps of old bricks and rubble, and coating these with cement. The craftsmanship of their workmen was based on their ability to sculpt the surfaces of these ‘rocks’ to simulate natural textures. It is thought that Pulhamite made up the fabric of the Dripping Well. An in-depth survey during the Development Period will ascertain this.
The Constitution - click here to see it