A photographic and historical view of the city of Derby and its surroundings

Mark Miley

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Derby In Pictures

A photographic and historical view of the city of Derby and its surroundings

Mark Miley

Shop Front

Derby In Pictures

The Arboretum

Illustration

Tucked away on the edge of the city centre is one of Derby's true gems, a small but beautiful park whose diminutive size belies its international significance

In the middle years of the 19th century mill owner, former mayor and renowned philanthropist Joseph Strutt embarked on a unique project to create a public park, widely considered to be the first of its kind in Britain, to express his gratitude to the people of Derby for helping his family to make their fortune.

Strutt had originally purchased the 11 acre plot on the Southern edge of town in order to create for himself a summer retreat. However this was a time of rapid urbanisation across the country and the Liberal Parliament of the day had made a plea for open spaces to be provided for hard pressed millworkers. Strutt responded quickly to this and commissioned the renowned John Claudius Loudon to interpret his vision of a botanical garden and pleasure ground designed to create a haven of peace and tranquillity for the local population which, when completed, he gifted to the people of the town

Work commenced in 1839 with the finished design boasting a number of beautiful lodges, garden buildings, fountain, a 1000 trees and shrubs, winding paths and undulated hillocks designed to make the park appear larger than its 11 acres by ensuring that it is not possible to see the whole expanse. To this Strutt added sculpture from his own garden on St Peter's Street. This was further complimented in later years by an aviary and, most strikingly, a large iron and glass conservatory known as the Crystal Palace. Sadly these last only lasted until the early years of the 20th century

The Arboretum finally opened in 1840 with a huge celebration and a parade from the Market Place. Although an admission fee was charged to the park this was waived on Wednesday afternoons and Sundays allowing the working classes free access and an escape from their homes and work places

It is thought that the American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted took inspiration from the Arboretum for his design for Central Park in New York.In 1859 he had embarked on a research tour of the parks of Europe and one of those that he visited was the Derby arboretum

Over the years the Arboretum has had a chequered story. In 1878 a plan was devised and approved to drive a road through the middle in order to improve access to the town from the rapidly urbanising area surrounding the park. Fortunately a compromise was reached when admission charges were scrapped completely and a path was created instead.

Later in the 20th century the 'dig for victory' campaign during the WW2, along with years of industrial pollution had resulted in the loss of many trees and subsequent vandalism and neglect over the years left the park in a poor state. Fortunately an inspired programme of restoration between 2002 and 2005 has once again made this a haven for the people of the area, just as Joseph Strutt intended 


A few of the sculptural elements in the park



The park looking beautiful in the snow

Some snowy pictures taken way back in 2010

All of the photographs contained in this website remain the property of Mark Miley and cannot be copied for commercial or promotional uses without prior written permission from Mark Miley.For information about using any of these photographs contact Mark Miley at moc.liamg%40seiknomkcatta  

Created by Mark Miley

All rights Reserved

All of the photographs contained in this website remain the property of Mark Miley and cannot be copied for commercial or promotional uses without prior written permission from Mark Miley.For information about using any of these photographs contact Mark Miley at moc.liamg%40seiknomkcatta  

Created by Mark Miley

All rights Reserved

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