New Town Gardens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Designations | |
|---|---|
| Official name | The New Town Gardens |
| Designated | 30 March 2001 |
| Reference no. | GDL00367 |
The New Town Gardens are a collection of around 30 mostly private gardens and parks within the Edinburgh New Town Conservation Area spread across the New Town and the West End, listed as a heritage designation since March 2001. The gardens comprise a series of 18th and 19th century town gardens, squares and walks, established contemporaneously with the New Town of Edinburgh between 1767 and around 1850. The gardens typically belong to the town houses and tenement flats that overlook them, and serve as a private outdoor space for the residents who often lack individual back gardens due to the proclivity of drying greens and carriage houses.[1]
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Most of the gardens were established contemporaneously to the New Town, and north West End of Edinburgh.
Some have unique history such as the Hopetoun Crescent Gardens, which were the original site of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.[2] The Queen Street Central gardens have a pond with an island, said to have inspired Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.[3]
Membership and access
Each garden has different rules concerning criteria for membership and access, with some permitting only those owning or renting surrounding properties a key, while others welcome applications from residents in other parts of the City of Edinburgh.[4] Some gardens are regularly opened to the public, such as St Andrew Square, while others are only opened to the public on Doors Open Days or not at all.[5]
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