The York Museum Gardens are botanic gardens in the centre of York, England, beside the River Ouse. They cover an area of of the former grounds of St Mary's Abbey, and were created in the 1830s by the Yorkshire Philosophical Society along with the Yorkshire Museum which they contain.
The gardens are held in trust by the City of York Council and are managed by the York Museums Trust. They were designed in a gardenesque style by landscape architect Sir John Murray Naysmith, and contain a variety of species of plants, trees and birds. Admission is free. A variety of events take place in the gardens, such as open-air theatre performances and festival activities.
There are several historic buildings in the gardens. They contain the remains of the west corner of the Roman fort of Eboracum, including the Multangular Tower and parts of the Roman walls. In the same area there is also the Anglian Tower, which was probably built into the remains of a late Roman period fortress. During the Middle Ages, the tower was expanded and the Roman walls were incorporated into York's city walls. Most of the other buildings dating from the Middle Ages are associated with St Mary's Abbey, including the ruins of the abbey church, the Hospitium, the lodge and part of the surviving precinct wall. The remains of St. Leonard's Hospital chapel and undercroft are on the east side of the gardens. The Yorkshire Philosophical Society constructed several buildings in the gardens during the 19th and early 20th century, including the Yorkshire Museum and its octagonal observatory. The museum houses four permanent collections, covering biology, geology, archaeology and astronomy.
History The gardens, which were given to the Yorkshire Philosophical Society by the British royal family in 1828, occupy part of the former grounds of St. Mary's Abbey. The society acquired the land to build a museum to house its collections; the Yorkshire Museum was completed in 1830. The land was granted to the Yorkshire Philosophical Society under the condition that botanical gardens would be established on the site. These were created during the 1830s in a gardenesque style design by landscape architect Sir John Murray Naysmith. They originally contained a conservatory, a pond and a menagerie, which was destroyed when a bear escaped from it and had brief control of the area.Feinstein, C. H. Ed. (1981), York 1831–1981: 150 years of scientific endeavour and social change, William Sessions limited, . p. 265. The then Princess Victoria visited the gardens in 1835, the year that they were first open to the public.Feinstein, C. H. Ed. (1981), York 1831–1981: 150 years of scientific endeavour and social change, William Sessions limited, . pp. 14–15. In 1854 the gardens were described as "one of the principal attractions of York". At this time entrance was free to members and for non-members entrance cost one shilling except on Saturday when it cost six pence.
In 1960, the gardens and the Yorkshire Museum were given in trust to the City of York Council and they became a public park. Since 2002, they have been managed by the York Museums Trust, along with York Castle Museum and York Art Gallery. The gardens are maintained by the Askham Bryan College of Agriculture.Yorkshire Philosophical Society history, Yorkshire Philosophical Society (2007), retrieved on 24 June 2007Yorkshire Museum & Gardens , York Museums Trust (2007), retrieved on 24 June 2007
Description
York Museum Gardens cover an area of on the north bank of the River Ouse, just outside the city walls in the centre of York. There are four entrances to the gardens: on Marygate (off Bootham) by St Olave's Church, on Museum Street by Lendal Bridge, via a path at the side of King's Manor, and from the riverside walk next to the River Ouse. The site slopes gently down towards the river and is made up of historical buildings and undulating lawns interspersed with plants and trees. The gardens are open to the public during daylight hours, so the opening and closing times vary throughout the year. Normally admission is free but there are charges for some events. In 2010 it was estimated that the gardens attract 1.3 million visitors a year. Drinking alcohol, cycling and ball games are not allowed in the gardens.
Plants There are approximately 4,500 plants and trees in the collection, some of the varieties native to England and some from other parts of the world. Planting consists of large beds containing predominantly shrubs and trees, and lawns interspersed with individual trees. Species of tree include a monkey puzzle tree along with oak and chestnut trees; six of the trees in the gardens are classed as county champion trees: Fraxinus angustifolia 'Lentiscifolia', Pyrus elaeagrifolia, Carpinus betulus 'Incisa', Alnus glutinosa 'Imperialis', Tilia cordata, Fagus sylvatica 'Miltonensis'. There is a rockery next to the Marygate entrance, by the ruins of the abbey church, and in front of the entrance to the Yorkshire Museum there is a terrace bordered with beds of white roses, the symbol of Yorkshire.
There is an 'Edible Wood' located behind York Art Gallery, in the north-west corner of the gardens. The wood was planted in July 2015 and features plants that have an edible component and are both attractive and useful.
Animals In the early 19th century, the gardens included a menagerie. Henry Baines' daughter, Fanny, recalled 70 years later that in this period the menageries contained a bear, a golden eagle, and several monkeys, amongst other animals. In 1831, a bear from the menagerie got loose in the gardens and reportedly chased the Keeper of the Yorkshire Museum, John Phillips, and Reverend Harcourt into an outbuilding. The bear was subsequently sent to London Zoo.
The gardens are home to a population of semi-tame grey squirrels and many species of birds. A 1970 report covering the period 1965–1969 listed the vertebrates resident in the gardens at that time: Common wood pigeon, Tawny owl, Blue tit, Eurasian Wren, Dunnock, European Robin, European greenfinch, Mistle thrush, Song thrush, Blackbird, and House sparrow, Common shrew, Wood mouse, and Brown rat. Until 2006 a family of peacocks had been in residence for at least 70 years,The peacock has landed , The Press, York (2001), and Find the missing peacock The Press, York (2006), retrieved on 24 June 2007 though numbers had fluctuated since at least 2001 as birds occasionally escaped or were involved in traffic accidents on nearby Museum Street.
In 2012 the gardens was one of the release sites for a new population of the endangered Tansy beetle and, as of 2015, is one of the best places to see them in the wild. In 2018 a leaf-mining fly, Phytomyza scotina, was discovered mining the leaves of sage plants in the gardens – it was subsequently described as a new species for Britain.
Geology There is a geological oddity close to the main gates, consisting of a large boulder of pink granite that was discovered during construction of the city's railway station. Since this type of stone is not local it was determined as having been transported there from Shap in Cumbria by glacial action during the last ice age. In 2015, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the publication of the geological map of Britain by William Smith, a mosaic map was commissioned for the Gardens from artist Janette Ireland which shows the geological strata of Yorkshire in pebbles of the corresponding stone.
Events
As well as being a popular recreational space for both residents and visitors, the gardens are the venue for special events such as open-air theatre and music performances. In 1970, bands including Roxy Music, Hawkwind and Pink Fairies staged concerts here. During the 20th-century revival of the York Mystery Plays, performances were held on a fixed stage in the gardens among the ruins of St. Mary's Abbey. In the 1950s, York actress Dame Judi Dench acted in the plays performed in the gardens, and played the Virgin Mary in 1957. The Mystery Plays returned to the gardens between 2–27 August 2012 and involved over one thousand local volunteers. In 2006, between 800 and 1,000 people celebrated the Chinese New Year with displays that included lion dancers.China crisis, The Press, York (2006), retrieved on 10 October 2007 In 2007 The Lord Chamberlain's Men presented a production of Romeo & Juliet.Open-air concerts The Press, York (2006) and Preview: The Lord Chamberlain's Men present Romeo & Juliet, Museum Gardens, York, 29 to 31 August, The Press, York (2007), retrieved on 10 October 2007 Also in 2007, during the Jorvik Viking festival, there were demonstrations of Viking craft skills and battle training.JORVIK Viking Festival 2007 , York Archaeological Trust (2006), retrieved on 12 September 2007 The Yorkshire Museum and the Museum Gardens first hosted the Eboracum Roman Festival in 2016. It has since become an annual event. In 2019 the gardens hosted the York Proms, an open-air classical music concert. In July 2024 the gardens hosted a series of gigs headlined by Shed Seven.
Saluting station The gardens are the location of York's Saluting Station, one of only 12 in the United Kingdom, with 21-gun salutes being fired at noon to celebrate occasions related to the British Royal Family throughout the year. At these times a military band marches to the gardens before the salute is fired.York: home to the Army since AD71 , British Army (2004), retrieved on 24 June 2007 On 9 September 2022 a 96-gun salute was held in commemoration of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, one for each year of her life. This was followed, on 10 September by a 21-gun salute to mark the Proclamation of accession of Charles III.
Exhibitions There is a designated 'Artist's Garden' behind the Art Gallery, within the Museum Gardens. Sculptural works are displayed in this open air space. Exhibitions in this space have included:
Foundation Myths by Charles Holland (2016–2017) was the first exhibition in the Artist's Garden. Leisureland Golf by Doug Fishbourne (June–September 2017) was a fully playable crazy-golf course and sculptural installation. The Pollinarium (27 September – 6 October 2018) was a timber structure, covered with flowering plants and shown as part of the York Mediale. Michael Lyons: Ancient and Modern (25 May 2019 – May 2020) is a series of sculptures by Michael Lyons. It is the first time such a large exhibition of outdoor sculpture has been displayed in York. Ghosts in the Garden (23 September – 7 November 2022) is a series of wire-mesh sculptures of historical figures on display throughout the Artist's garden and Museum Gardens as well as at the Treasurer's House, York, Merchant Adventurers' Hall, Barley Hall, and St Anthony's Garden.
Buildings
Roman
In the northeast of Museum Gardens there are remains of the west corner of the fortifications that surrounded the Roman fort of Eboracum. The original defences, consisting of turf ramparts on a green wood foundation, were built by the Ninth Legion between 71 and 74 AD. Later those were replaced by a clay mound with a turf front on a new oak foundation, and eventually wooden battlements were added, which were then replaced by limestone walls and towers.Willis, The illustrated Portrait of York, pp. 19–22 These stone defences are some of the few Roman remains that are visible above ground in York.
The Multangular Tower is the western corner tower of the Roman fortress, and consists of both Roman and medieval architecture. The tower has 10 sides, from which it derives its modern name "multangular", and is 19 feet (5.8 m) high.Willis, The illustrated Portrait of York, p. 22 It was built in its late Roman form during the early 4th century, when it was constructed with three floors to house a catapult. Five Roman stone coffins are in the Multangular Tower, which were brought from graveyards in other areas of York.