Derby Arboretum : Attraction of Derby

Derby Arboretum is a public arboretum and park in the city of Derby. It was the first publicly owned, landscaped, urban, recreational park in England. It is located in the Rose Hill area, abut a mile south of Derby city centre. After many years of neglect, the Arboretum has recently been extensively refurbished with the aid of a National Lottery grant of almost £5 million.

History

The Arboretum was donated to the town in 1840 by Joseph Strutt, a former mayor of Derby and member of a prominent local family of industrialists. A noted philanthropist, Strutt was grateful to the working people of Derby for the part they had played in helping him and his family amass their fortune, and wanted to convey his thanks by providing a much needed recreational facility for a rapidly expanding and urbanising area. Strutt commissioned John Claudius Loudon to design the park, and Loudon adapted Strutt’s orginal plans for a botanical garden and pleasure grounds to his own vision, incorporating landscaped walkways.

Work on the Arboretum commenced in July 1839, and was completed in time for the grand opening which took place on September 16, 1840. The occasion was marked by a parade from the Market Place in the centre of Derby to the new park. The park initially charged for admission, in order to pay for it’s upkeep. However, admission was free on Sundays and on Wednesdays (which had been adopted as half day closing in Derby). This mean that the working classes, who had limited leisure time and probably lacked the means to pay admission, could gain free access to the Arboretum when they actually had the time to do so; in effect, the park was paid for by those who had time and money to spare to enjoy the facilities. Free admission times continued to be extended until finally being abolished in 1882.

In 1859 the Arboretum was one of a number of parks visited by Frederick Law Olmsted while on a research tour of Europe, and it is thought that he may have incorporated features of Loudon’s work into his design for Central Park in New York.

Notable landmarks

Over the years the Arboretum has incorporated a variety of buildings, statues and ornaments. Perhaps the best known locally is the Florentine Boar statue, which was originally placed on the site in 1806, when the land was Joseph Strutt’s private garden. Strutt had commissioned it as a copy of an original statue in Florence. The boar remained in place after the creation of the Arboretum until it was irreparably damaged during a German air raid on Derby in 1941.

Other past and present features of the Arboretum include:
The original “Grand Entrance” from Grove Street and adjacent lodge.
An elaborate entrance from Arboretum Square, incorporating a statue of Joseph Strutt, completed in 1850.
An entrance lodge on the Rose Hill Street side.
A Victorian bandstand, destroyed along with the Boar in 1941.
A replica of the Crystal Palace building in London, demolished in the 1890s.
The fountain, originally built in 1846 and recently restored.
Two bowling greens, home of the Arboretum and Joseph Strutt Bowls Clubs.
Arboretum Field, an extension to the original area of the park added in 1845. At one time major football matches were played here, notably Derby Junction’s victory over Blackburn Rovers in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in 1888. There are still football pitches here today.

The Arboretum today

In recent decades, vandalism and lack of investment had left the Arboretum in a state of seemingly terminal decline, however this process has been reversed in the light of the recent injection of Lottery money and a determination locally to return this important historic landmark to its former status. Ornaments and buildings have been restored and new ones added. After a long running local campaign, a new replica of the Florentine Boar statue was finally put in place in November 2005.

Other new features include the Heart of the Park building, incorporating community rooms, a café, public toilets and changing rooms for the adjacent sports facilities (basketball courts and cricket nets).

The Rose Hill Recreation Ground is an extensive modern playground catering for all age groups of children that has been created within the park.