It's About Lincoln and Lincolnshire: edward milner

The Lincoln Arboretum is more than just a green space; it is a testament to the Victorian era’s growing recognition of the need for public leisure. Following the Lincoln Commons Act of 1870, the Lincoln Corporation purchased Monks Leys Common for the building of housing for Lincoln's booming population. Towns and cities throughout the country were recognising the leisure needs of their people, Lincoln was no exception in this and in 1870 undertook to provide a public park in what was to become a densely populated part of the City. Temple Gardens, although privately owned, had been used as a public park on an informal basis. Joseph Mawer Collingham, a son of the founder of the department store, Joseph Collingham, bought Temple Gardens in 1863 and built his new house on Lindum Road on the south side of Temple Gardens. Read more about Temple Gardens here.

Designing a Masterpiece

The city commissioned renowned landscape gardener Edward Milner (1819-84) to design the grounds. Milner was already well-known in the area for his work on the design of the grounds of Hartsholme Hall in 1862.

To fund the development, three acres of the common were sold. Milner’s original vision included:

The West Gate Lodge and Tea Room: Still standing at the Monks Road entrance.
A Grand Pavilion: Located at the first flight of steps, this structure was sadly demolished in 1948 following years of neglect.

The West Gate Lodge and Tea Room

A Grand Opening to Remember

The Arboretum officially opened in August 1872. Its importance to the community cannot be overstated—25,000 people attended the opening ceremony, an incredible figure considering Lincoln’s total population at the time was just under 27,000!

The crowds were treated to a spectacular variety of Victorian entertainment, including:

Professor Renzo’s Performing Dogs.
A hot air balloon ascent by "Midland aeronaut" Mr. Emmanuel Jackson.
Brass band recitals and a ladies' choir from Liverpool.

The stone lion statue in Lincoln Arboretum, presented by F.J. Clarke in 1872

The Arboretum Lion
Dave Hitchborne / The Lion, The Arboretum, Lincoln /

CC BY-SA 2.0

Iconic Landmarks

Over the years, several features were added that became synonymous with the park:

The Arboretum Lion: Presented in 1872 by F J Clarke, a local chemist. This Coade stone statue was crafted by Austin & Seeley of London.
The Bandstand & Shelter: Brass band concerts were so popular that by 1884, a permanent bandstand and a cast-iron shelter (built by Lockerbie and Wilson) were erected. By 1889, these concerts attracted upwards of 40,000 attendees!
The Coronation Fountain: Erected in 1911 to commemorate the new water supply from Elkesley, Nottinghamshire.

The Bandstand erected in 1884

The Grand Pavilion

Growth and Expansion

The park has grown significantly since its inception, now covering 21 acres (8.8 hectares):

1894: Nathaniel Clayton Cockburn donated land to the northwest, which was designed by Milner’s son, Henry Ernest Milner.
1953: The site of the former "Cold Bath House" (a nursing home bombed during WWII) was landscaped and added to the park to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The natural spring that gave the house its name was converted into the water feature seen today.

A fountain was erected in 1911 to celebrate the turning on of
the new water supply from Elkesley in Nottinghamshire.

The Arboretum Today

After over a century of use, the park underwent a massive £3 million renovation in 2002/3 to restore it to its original Victorian glory, ensuring that Edward Milner’s vision remains a jewel of Lincoln for generations to come.

The Lincoln Waterworks Company was established in 1846 to provide fresh drinking water to the growing city of Lincoln. One of the main requirements. of a fresh water system is a reservoir: Prial Drain gave a regular supply of fresh water so the Company built a dam adjacent to the road to Skellingthorpe.

The lake covered 25 acres and held 23 million gallons of water. The water was piped to the Boultham filter beds near Altham Terrace and then pumped to a service reservoir in Lincoln. The lake supplied a total of 733 homes and was used until 1911. It was long thought that the Skellingthorpe lake was responsible for the Lincoln Typhoid outbreak of 1905 but it was caused by human waste in the upper Witham.

Joseph Shuttleworth was a successful engineer, a partner in Clayton Shuttleworth & Company, and needed a home suitable to his status. In 1861 he bought the lake and grounds, in 1862 Hartsholme Hall, designed by Major F H Goddard, was built for him. As well as the grand Hall a stable block, cottages, laundry, battery house, farmstead, lodges on Skellingthorpe Road and Doddington Road were also constructed. The interior of the Hall took a further 2 years to complete.

The grounds were designed by Edward Milner, the Victorian landscape gardener, who later designed the The Arboretum

The Doddington Road Lodge was built in 1879 and the size of the estate was increased to about 300 acres. The boathouse was built in 1881 and is the last building on the park to display the Shuttleworth crest.

Joseph died in 1883, and his widow moved to Heighington Hall. Hartsholme Hall passed to his eldest son, Alfred.

Alfred lived mainly in The Close in Lincoln, later extending Eastgate House, now part of

the Lincoln Hotel . Nathaniel Clayton Cockburn moved into the Hall in the mid 1890s.

In 1902 it was sold to Colonel Thomas Harding. Harding installed electricity in the Hall and re-erected a monument originally erected by the waterworks company to commemorate the building of the reservoir.

By 1906 the Hall was substantial, having five main ground floor rooms, a winter garden, and nineteen bedrooms as well as kitchens and servants' quarters

Lord Liverpool (Sir Arthur William de Brito Savile Foljambe (1870-1941)) bought the estate in 1909 for £16,250. Lord Liverpool was Governor, later Governor-General. of New Zealand. He died at Canwick Hall in 1941.

January 1939, J E Walter & Sons, the Lincoln estate agent, was

instructed to sell the Hartsholme Estate. The Estate comprised of 2,700 acres and included

"Hartsholme Hall with beautiful Gardens, Grounds, Ornamental Lake, with extensive Kitchen Gardens, Greenhouses, 2 Lodges, 3 Estate Cottages, 2 Keepers Cottages, Laundry Cottage, Butler's and Gardener's Cottage."

"687 Acres of Woodland", "The Most Attractive Residence known as Stones Place with choicely laid out Gardens and Greenhouses, etc.",

"15 Farms & Small Holdings. Valuable Building Frontages and Accommodation Lands, 20 Cottages & Gardens."

The Hall was purchased by Thomas Place, timber Merchant, of Northallerton. He did not take up residence in the Hall, he may have bought it for demolition and sale of the building materials: it was common practice to do this as the value of the building materials was often greater than the value of the building.

The estate was requisitioned by the Army in 1942 for military training. The Hall was an officers mess.

At the end of hostilies the Hall was used used by homeless families, by 1947 32 families were squatting in it. Thomas Place put the estate up for sale and demanded compensation from Lincoln Corporation.

The Hall and 130 acres were sold to Lincoln Corporation, the sale was eventually completed in 1951. The Hall was to be to converted to an old peoples home but the neglect and damage sustained to the structure of the building meant that there was no alternative but to demolish it at a cost of £600.00. The kitchen block and other buildings were left standing for Civil Defence use. The kitchen block was eventually demolished in 1964.

Other Lincoln Houses

The Lost Houses of Lincoln - Boultham Hall
The Lost Houses of Lincoln - Eastgate House
The Lost Houses of Lincoln - Monk's Tower
The Lost Houses of Lincoln - Monk's Manor

The Lost Houses of Lincoln - Cold Bath House

The Lost Houses of Lincoln - Sibthorp House

The Lost Houses of Lincoln - Eastcliffe House

The Old House on Corporation Street

The Crooked House and the Harlequin

Grand House Built on the Sale of Drugs