The West End Park Estate
The West End Park Estate is a Harrogate conservation area and the 4.5 acres of gardens were established as an amenity for residents when the original houses were built in the later decades of the 19th century.
The landowner retained ownership of the gardens and the deeds by which the houses were sold provided that the householders should pay an annual sum towards their upkeep. Unfortunately no provision was made for inflation and, with the passage of time, the annual contributions became insufficient to meet the costs. Eventually the landowner stopped bothering to collect the subscriptions and ceased to maintain the gardens.
The gardens were originally surrounded by wrought iron fences but these were sacrificed to the nationwide collection of iron for the manufacture of armaments in World War 2. Stumps of sawn-off iron fence posts can still be seen in places around the perimeter of the gardens. The removal of the boundary fences would have facilitated the large-scale fly-tipping which further added to the problems of clearing up the mess three decades later.
What we do
Our aim is to maintain the gardens in a tidy condition, tolerating a certain degree of wildness such as a bed of nettles (good for butterflies) here and there and even brambles, but not letting these wild areas get out of control. So we cut the grass during the summer, trim the surrounding hedges and the many laurel bushes once a year. Clearing away the heavy burden of leaves which cover the grass in some places is a big job but necessary to give the grass the chance to survive.
The effort required to do this is nothing compared to the work done by the pioneers who restored the gardens in the 1970s, but it is still quite a big job. The present level of membership subscriptions are willingly paid by most residents and are sufficient to support the work which is done mainly by our gardening volunteers. Attendance at working parties has fallen off over the years however and, if we were to have to employ contractors to do all the work, the level of financial contribution needed to cover the cost would be much higher and might not be so readily paid. Volunteering is therefore vital to the preservation of the gardens as they are today.
How you can help
Become a member and support our work through a small annual membership subscription.
Become a gardening volunteer if you are able. The work our volunteers do is essential for the upkeep of the gardens (see also under Garden Maintenance) and can contribute to both your physical and your mental wellbeing. Not all the work we do is strenuous but many hands make light work!