Harrogate's Award Winning Park
THE ORIGINAL "FRIENDS OF THE VALLEY GARDENS": In 1986, the Sun Pavilion and Colonnades were in disrepair and under threat. A group of friends, lead by Anne Smith, joined together to save them and to prevent the building of a car park on Garden land. Their efforts spanned 12 years and included help from James Herriot, David Bellamy, and Geoffrey Smith among many others and culminated in the grand re-opening of the Sun Pavilion by the Queen in Dec 1998.
The history of this group is well documented in the press coverage of the time. The article below, by Malcolm Neesam from the Harrogate Advertiser of 8th Oct 2010, summarises this history. (Click on the article for a larger version.)
If you would like to read more about the group’s struggle, click on the articles listed below which were kindly provided by Anne Smith.
- Valley Gardens Faces Shakeup ~1986
- It Must Be Made Safe ~1986
- James Herriot Joins Car Park Protestors - 5 May 86
- Car Park Plan for Valley Gardens - 3 Oct 86
- Bellamy in Valley Gardens Fight - 25 Nov 86
- Gardens Car Park Plan is Voted Out - 5 Dec 86
- Fight for Your Gardens Plea, page 1 - 13 Mar 87
- Fight for Your Gardens Plea, page 2- 13 Mar 87
- Digging in to Save the Perfect English Garden (top of the newspaper fold) - 18 Apr 87
- Digging in to Save the Perfect English Garden (bottom of the fold) - 18 Apr 87
- It's Tropical Yorks - 12 Jun 87
- Pavilion Appeal Welcomed - 17 Mar 93
- When the Sun Always Shone in the Gardens - 8 Dec 95 part 1
- When the Sun Always Shone in the Gardens - 8 Dec 95 part 2
- Our Joy at Return of Sun Pavilion ~Aug 98
- Invitation to Opening by the Queen - 10 Dec 98
- Dance With Delight - 11 Dec 98
- A job Well Done For the Sun Pavilion - 23 Oct 09
- Yorkshire Life - Feb 2010 page 67-68
- Yorkshire Life - Feb 2010 page 69
RE-FORMATION OF THE FRIENDS OF VALLEY GARDENS: In October 2009 Anne Smith, the chairman of Friends of Valley Gardens (FOVG), announced that she was retiring. As no replacement was found Harrogate Borough Council (HBC) called a public meeting to discuss Valley Gardens in general and the possibility of setting up a new Friends Group to work alongside the council with the aim of improving the appearance, facilities, activities, conservation value and safety of their local park. A number of public meetings were held, and in February 2010 Tom Holleman was confirmed as Chairman and Jane Blayney as Vice Chairman.
In April 2010 FOVG was officially established and a website was created by Tom. The group met monthly and initially numbered 35. Tom, who is an American citizen, continued as Chairman until he had to return to the US in March 2011. At this point Jane Blayney took over as chairman and remained in that position until November 2018.
Donations had been received and fundraising events had been carried out throughout 2010, and so the decision was made to restore the Old Magnesia Well Pump Room (OMWPR), which had been neglected over many years. Jane became the major fundraiser and project manager. The restoration of the adjacent Peat Garden was carried out at the same time. The OMWPR was officially opened in October 2015.
The first 1940s Day fundraising day was held in 2011. This was a very successful event and was repeated annually until 2017, at which point it became too onerous a task for the working party and small number of volunteers to continue.
Jane was the instigator of FOVG becoming a charity in July 2012. She worked tirelessly to raise the profile of FOVG. Her application to the Duke of York Community Initiative Award was successful in October 2012.
During the period of Jane’s chairmanship, FOVG was awarded £89,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore the Japanese Garden, which had become overgrown. The restored garden was officially opened by the Japanese Ambassador to the United Kingdom in October 2018.
November 2018 saw the official opening of the King Edward VII Memorial Gate and memorial rose garden at which point Jane retired as Chairman after seven very hardworking years
On Jane’s retirement no replacement chairman could be found and so a group of four trustees, Liz Chidlow, Ann Beeby, Andrew Jordan and Anne Grange took over joint responsibility for the day to day running of the group.
The three ex chairmen, Anne, Jane and Tom are still actively involved with FOVG. Anne and Jane have recently published a Souvenir Guide to Valley Gardens, which includes a brief history of the gardens, along with many photographs. Tom still helps with the design and maintenance of the website.