The Moorbank Botanic Garden was a university

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, England. It occupied a site on Claremont Road to the west of the main

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...

campus, and was developed in the 1920s. Moorbank was leased from the Freemen of Newcastle until 2013, when the lease was not renewed and gardens were closed.

History

The first plants at Moorbank were grown in 1923. The area under cultivation was extended in 1980 using plants from the collection of Randle Cooke, a plant collector from

Corbridge Corbridge is a village in Northumberland, England, west of Newcastle and east of Hexham. Villages nearby include Halton, Acomb, Aydon and Sandhoe. Etymology Corbridge was known to the Romans as something like ''Corstopitum'' or ''Coriosopit ...

, who bequeathed his garden to the university. The glasshouse complex was erected in 1985 and holds collections of tropical and desert plants. It was announced in 2012 that Newcastle University would be withdrawing its support for the facility as botany was no longer so important in its research profile. The gardens closed in November 2013.

Uses

The glasshouses were divided into cool areas (8–10 °C in winter) and warmer areas (min 16 °C in winter). They contain plants being used for research. Outside were formal plantings and collections of

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

potentilla ''Potentilla'' is a genus containing over 300Guillén, A., et al. (2005)Reproductive biology of the Iberian species of ''Potentilla'' L. (Rosaceae).''Anales del Jardín Botánico de Madrid'' 1(62) 9–21. species of annual, biennial and perenni ...

and medicinal plants. Through a volunteer network the garden was opened to the public on certain days via the

National Gardens Scheme The National Garden Scheme opens privately owned gardens in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, and the Channel Islands on selected dates for charity. It was founded in 1927 with the aim of "opening gardens of quality, character and interest to th ...

. The garden linked with

Tyne and Wear Museums Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums (TWAM) is a regional group of United Kingdom national museums and the county archives service located across the Tyne and Wear area of north-east England. They have been administered by a joint board of local authori ...

to provide environmental workshops for primary schools and was a venue for adult evening classes in painting and photography. In 2012, the garden received

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

funding to improve public access to the gardens.Newcastle University’s Moorbank botanic garden gets cash boost
'' The Journal'' 28 February 2012

References

External links

Moorbank Botanic Garden
on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

Botanical gardens in England Newcastle University 1923 establishments in England Parks and open spaces in Newcastle upon Tyne {{UK-university-stub