1984-1995

The installation of a pre-fabricated classroom was approved in 1983 and was expected to be a temporary structure for about four years. It lasted until 2016! The large greenhouse alongside the classroom was constructed in 1988. The ‘portaloo’ toilet block was placed nearby in 1989.

The Friends of the Botanical Gardens (FOBS) was established in 1984 as a group to provide horticultural education for the public, a social place for gardeners of all abilities to meet and to support the Gardens. Lectures and workshops were held in the classroom, day trips to a variety of regional gardens were arranged and members opened their own gardens so that other Friends could visit.

Fund-raising activities included plant sales, guided tours of the Gardens, catering services at events and the provision of speakers to other groups.

One of the first projects undertaken by the Friends was the construction of a demonstration garden in the area previously donated by Sir Samuel Osborn. The project benefitted from a grant by the Town Trust to mark the 150th anniversary of the Gardens. The garden, named to honour the Gardens’ original designer, was officially opened by the Master Cutler in 1988. A second ceremony, celebrated in the presence of the Lord Mayor, was held to mark the installation of the metal gates in 1994.

By the late 1980s a recession resulted in funding cuts and reduced staffing levels led inevitably to a decline in the level of garden and building maintenance. Vandalism became an increasing problem and eventually the derelict state of the pavilions meant that they had to be boarded up in the mid-1990s. Plans to sell the Curator’s House and to convert the Pavilions into a restaurant, a fitness gym or a wedding chapel were mooted.

Practical volunteer work started in autumn 1993, the aim was to rejuvenate the overgrown areas so they could be maintained by the Gardens staff, to replant where necessary and to label and record the completed areas. The volunteers would arrive in force every Wednesday to do battle with the weeds, edge flower beds and prune wayward shrubs.