Ashton Gardens Heritage Lottery Fund
Ashton Institute
Ashton Gardens in St Anne's has recently undergone a major refurbishment thanks to a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £1,436,000, as well as additional funding towards a total project cost of just under £2million.
Heritage Restoration of Ashton Gardens
Ashton Gardens is a Grade II Listed Garden on English Heritage’s Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. It is situated in St Anne's Town Centre adjacent to St Anne's Square. The gardens cover 4 hectares and comprise of a number of historic buildings and display gardens.
The centre-piece of the restored park is the refurbished and re-sited Ashton Institute Building; a colonial style pavilion which has been moved so it is situated between the lodge buildings on St George’s Road, on the site of a theatre which was originally part of the park. This opened in August 2010 as a café/restaurant.
Adjacent to the Institute is the war memorial which has been cleaned, re-pointed and lit.
The East and West gate lodges have been restored externally and, these, coupled with the Ashton Institute and the reintroduction of metal railings as per the original park design, will form an impressive entrance to the gardens from St George’s Road, reminiscent of the view which the original visitors would have seen. Landscape work includes improvements to the play area, drainage, paving, tree works and the replanting of each of the various display gardens. Future funding is being sought from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the restoration of the Rock and Water Gardens.
Experienced landscape architects Bertram Hyde and historic architects Donald Insall Associates are both part of the team responsible for envisaging and delivering the project.
For Further information contact Phil Morley the St Annes Parks Officer on tel. 01253 658468 or email philm@fylde.gov.uk.
