Linton Gardens
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Linton Gardens was gifted to Hastings Borough Council in 1937 by the Cornwallis Estate. Part of the of conditions of the gift required the acquisition of adjacent allotments to the north of the site to permit a better entrance from the top end of Linton Road; a 1937 newspaper report giving a value of £135[1].
The gardens were originally part of the Priory Farm and were utilised to grow hops in the late 19th century; the landlord being the Cornwallis Estate[2], then becoming meadowlands. Following the development of the adjacent Linton Road, Stanley Road and Wykeham Road in the early 20th century, the gardens became subscription gardens, with the lower lawns laid out as tennis courts by 1910. Under the terms of an old deed (parties not known, but the agreement taken to be part of the Cornwallis Estate’s development of the land) 3 acres (1.2 ha) of the land was to be preserved as pleasure gardens, serving as subscription gardens for the residents of the new houses in the surrounding roads; this development is first shown on the 1899 Ordnance Survey (2nd edition) but had been extended further by 1910 (OS 3rd edition). At that time only a small number of houses backing on to Linton Gardens had been built, but it is likely that the residents would have been amongst the early subscribers. The Gardens were to be managed by a board of trustees.
Following the enclosure of the gardens, what appears to have been a pond is shown as a circular feature on 1928 mapping - reference is certainly made to there being a pond in the aforementioned 1937 newspaper report. The newspaper report describes the gardens thus:-
The gardens are charmingly accluded [sic – possibly ‘secluded’ intended] and attractive in layout. There are tennis courts, a fishpond, flower beds, and a wealth of ornamental shrubs and trees. There is also space for bowling greens, and the grassy slopes on the Wykeham-road side are already laid out with footpaths, which a certain amount of attention would render suitable for public use.
There is a wide entrance to the gardens from Braybrooke-terrace, and another of similar size from the top of Linton-road, a smaller entry leading from Wykeham-road. Just inside the Braybrooke-terrace entrance, facing up the valley, is a gardener’s house of unusually attractive design. The tennis courts are laid out in terraces, and the whole appearance of the gardens is extremely pleasing.
Images
- Images
Linton Gardens c1947
Aerial Photograph of Linton Gardens c1948
Hastings. Postcard
Many of the trees are original to the opening of the subscription gardens and include the following[3]:-
- Golden Lime (part of an avenue of Limes planted circa 1981 to replace Wheatley Elms, victims of Dutch elm disease.)
- Dawyck Beech
- Indian Horse Chestnut
- Copper Beech
The naming of the gardens and adjacent road reflects the name of Lord Cornwallis' house - Lynton in Maidstone[1].
Between the 1930s and 1970s, the gardens were utilised for the annual 'Crowning of the May Queen' event<ref>Linton Gardens Site Report
