It was the first designated public park in Nottingham, selected under the authority of the Inclosure Act of 1845. The botanist and horticultural publisher, Samuel Curtis, oversaw the design of the park which officially opened on 11 May 1852.[1][2] In 1986 it was Grade II* listed with Historic England.[3]
Nottingham mayor and lace manufacturer, Mr W Felkin, and Sheriff of the Borough of Nottingham, Mr. Ball, opened the park to of a crowd of 30,000 people.[4]
It was designed as a botanical collection, a tranquil place to relax, and a major attraction in the heart of VictorianNottingham. From 1852 it has been open free of charge on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday, but charged 6d admission (equivalent to £2.89 in 2021)[5] on other days, or £1 (equivalent to £115.6 in 2021)[5] for a yearly permit.
The Refreshment Rooms
Refreshment rooms with a banqueting hall occupying the entire frontage, built by James Ebrank Hall to designs in the Tudor style by Henry Moses Wood, opened in 1852. The building also comprised a ladies' room, refectory, kitchen, entrance hall with staircase, and three chambers upstairs. The whole was constructed of brick with stone facings and castellated front.[6] The wings of the refreshment rooms were demolished in 1932.[7] After 1957 the remainder of the building traded as a pub under the names, The Arboretum Rooms, The Arboretum pub (also known as The pub in the Park), Arboretum Hotel and Arboretum Manor. In 1965 the building was severely damaged by fire and had to be almost completely rebuilt. In 2006, another fire resulted in its demolition.
The Oldest and Newest Aviaries
The Circular Aviary was opened in 1889,[8] its cast-iron uprights and roof struts covered with modern steel mesh. The Upper Aviary was built in 1934 to house tropical birds. The Main Aviary of brick was constructed in 1955/6.
The first bandstand was moved here from the green in Nottingham Castle in 1881 and placed in front of the Refreshment Rooms. A new one designed by city architect Frank Beckett Lewis[9][10] replaced it in 1907.
English Heritage has designated the arboretum a Grade II* listed site on the Register of Historic Parks & Gardens and the park's Bell Tower, bandstand and Circular Aviary have all received Grade II listing protection.[4]
Arboretum was the name of a ward in the City of Nottingham until 2019, when it was merged with the Hyson Green ward to form the Hyson Green and Arboretum ward. At the time of the 2011 census, the former Arboretum ward had a population of 13,321.[11]
In addition to the Bell Tower, the aviary and the bandstand, the arboretum contains a number of other listed buildings, all at Grade II. These include: the main gateway and entrance; two lodges at the south-west and east; and a pedestrian subway, all by Henry Moses Wood and dating from 1851–52; a statue of Feargus O'Connor of 1859 by J. B. Robinson; and a war memorial to the 59th (2nd Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot of 1862–63 by Marriott Ogle Tarbotton. The cupola of the war memorial formerly contained a bell looted by British troops from a temple in Canton during the Second Opium War; this was removed to the regimental museum in 1956. Two of the cannon were captured at Sebastopol in 1854–55 during the Crimean War and the other two are replicas.[15]
^"Public Opening of the Nottingham Arboretum". Nottingham Review and General Advertiser for the Midland Counties. England. 14 May 1852. Retrieved 2 August 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
