Bournemouth Gardens are Grade II listed gardens in the town of Bournemouth,

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Created in the nineteenth century, the gardens follow the towns eponymous River Bourne three kilometres from the historic boundary with Poole south-eastwards into

Bournemouth Town Centre Bournemouth Town Centre is an area of Bournemouth, Dorset. The town centre is the central business district and is located near the coast between West Cliff and East Cliff. History In 1908 a tramway accident killed 7 people in the Town Cent ...

. The Gardens are home to a number of significant Bournemouth landmarks and listed buildings such as; the Town Hall, the

War Memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

, St. Andrew's Church and the Pavilion Theatre. Bournemouth Gardens have been

Green Flag Award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...

winners since 1999.

History

The gardens were planted between 1836 and 1840, with designs made by architects Benjamin Ferrey and Decimus Burton. It wasn't until 1859 that the gardens became publicly accessible. On 1 May 1908, 7 people were killed and 26 were injured when a tram crashed into the gardens. In 1924-29 the Pavilion Theatre was built in the Lower Central Gardens. In 1970 the Wessex Way flyover ( A338) was constructed, cutting through the Upper Central Gardens Collectively known as Upper, Central and Lower Pleasure Gardens, and Coy Pond Gardens, Bournemouth Gardens has constituted as a listed building since 1986 by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 reportedly hit the finances of the Gardens Trust.

Coy Pond Gardens

The gardens begin at Coy Pond. The gardens are bordered by Bourne Valley and

Talbot Woods Talbot Woods is an area of Bournemouth, Dorset. Talbot Woods is south of Talbot Village. History Talbot Woods is known for its high house prices and affluent residents. Environment Talbot Heath nature reserve is in the area. Dog-walking is ...

to the north and

Branksome Woods Branksome may refer to: * Branksome, County Durham, England, a suburb of Darlington * Branksome, Dorset, England, a suburb of Poole * Branksome Hall, a private school for girls in Toronto, Ontario, Canada ** Branksome Hall Asia, a private school for ...

and Westbourne to the south.

Upper Gardens

Bournemouth Gardens, borough boundary - geograph

The Upper Gardens has three distinct continental gardens, European, Asian and North American. The Upper Gardens hold many unusual tree species including a North American Giant Redwood (believed to be the largest in Britain). The water tower was built between 1883 and 1903, and is currently disused.

Central Gardens

The Square separates Central Gardens from the Lower Gardens.

Bournemouth War Memorial Bournemouth War Memorial is a First World War memorial built in 1921, located in the central gardens in Bournemouth, United Kingdom. The memorial is guarded by two stone lions made by WA Hoare. It was designed by Bournemouth's deputy architec ...

was built in 1922.

Lower Gardens

The historic band stand is in the Lower Gardens.The rock garden was built in the 1930s.

Events

The Gardens have an annual Winter Wonderland attraction at Christmas time.

Amenities

Bournemouth Gardens has a Tennis Centre. The Bournemouth Eye hot air balloon was an attraction until 2016.

Gallery

File:Coy Pond Gardens in the snow - geograph.org.uk - 2397366.jpg, Coy Pond Gardens in the snow. File:Bournemouth Gardens, red bridge and water tower - geograph.org.uk - 1654074.jpg, Asian style bridge with the water tower in the background. File:Bournemouth Gardens, stream and water tower - geograph.org.uk - 669493.jpg, River Bourne near the water tower. File:Bournemouth Gardens, Chinese lanterns - geograph.org.uk - 1713498.jpg, Chinese New Year in Bournemouth Gardens, 2010. File:Bournemouth Gardens, small waterfall - geograph.org.uk - 669426.jpg, Waterfall. File:Bournemouth Park - panoramio (1).jpg, The Bournemouth Eye in the gardens, 2010. File:Memorial Stone in Bournemouth Gardens (01 - Victory in Europe Day).jpg, Memorial Stone in Bournemouth Gardens, recognising

Victory in Europe Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easte ...

. File:Bournemouth Gardens, the Bourne Stream meanders towards the Pavilion - geograph.org.uk - 1713488.jpg, The Bourne Stream meanders towards the Pavilion theatre.

References

{{Bournemouth Grade II listed garden and park buildings Gardens in Dorset Tourist attractions in Bournemouth English gardens in English Landscape Garden style 1830s establishments in England Grade II listed parks and gardens in Dorset