The Secret Garden in Thornes Park was opened to the public on Sunday 3rd June 2012.
For over a year, volunteers from the Friends of CHaT Parks and others have worked hard to restore a large, old, formal garden that had been abandoned for over a quarter of a century.
Hundreds of hours of work have gone in to cutting through the weeds and brambles to reveal the Garden’s former glory and for the first time in the history of the Park the general public now have access to this area.
As part of the extensive restoration works, with the assistance of staff from Wakefield Museum, we have been able to display and make a feature of two of the columns from the old Market Cross in Wakefield and what is thought to be a pinnacle from Wakefield Cathedral.
Financial assistance from WREN (Waste Recycling Environmental Ltd) under the Landfill Communities Fund has meant that we were able to call on the assistance of UK Earthworks to help with the heavy construction work and the work of a large number of volunteers completed the rest.
Many of the plants from the former garden have been able to be saved and these have been complemented by new plants donated by Friends of the Park.
Ian Deighton, Chairman of the Friends of CHaT Parks, said “We are very proud to be able to add this large new area to our already attractive city park. It is the first major addition and extension to the Park in my lifetime and will be a fantastic legacy for future generations”.
As with all major garden projects, the work is never finished and the Secret Garden is no exception. We are still looking for volunteers to help develop the Secret Garden and for other urgent work in the Parks. If this is of interest to you, visit our Volunteering Pages orContact Us
The Secret Garden will be open most days from 9am to 6pm and can be accessed directly from Thornes Park.
More photos of the Secret Garden, including images from the 80’s and of the official opening, can be seen on our Facebook Page – www.facebook.com/FoCHaTparks