The Shakespeare Garden at Lightwoods House & Park

I've only managed to go into the Shakespeare Garden once at Lightwoods House & Park. That was during November 2017, after the house and other structures in the park were fully restored. It was usually open daily from 10am until 4pm. But on my last visit to the park in June 2020 it was closed (probably due to the pandemic and lockdown). Would be nice to go into it again soon

The Shakespeare Garden at Lightwoods Park & House

Some history about The Shakespeare Garden from the official Lightwoods Park & House website.

The garden was established in 1915 within the house's former walled gardens. The restored gardens was named after the bard William Shakespeare, and the shrubs were named after the playwrights works. The garden was designed on an Elizabethan theme. The garden is open to the public and is a fantastic venue for a variety of events. The idea for a Shakespeare Garden was conceived by Councillor G. Johnson, who was then Chairman of the Parks Committee, and was opened by the Lord Mayor, Alderman W. Bowater on the 22nd July 1915. The Elizabethan themed garden has a "knot garden", herb and fruit garden, containing many of the plants mentioned in Shakespeare's plays.

The garden was formerly the kitchen garden to Lightwoods Hall which at one point was the residence of Sir Francis Galton.

 

2011

My first glimpse of the Shakespeare Garden was from outside the gate during March 2011. It was not open on the day of my visit, and was before it was restored. So could only have a look through the locked gate at the time.

Shakespeare Garden sign on the wall from the outside.

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The ornate gate to the garden was padlocked, so couldn't go in (might have been the weekend so would have been closed any way).

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Flower bed outside the Shakespeare Garden to the left of the gate. Lots of yellows and some pinks and reds here.

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A look through the gate. Was some daffodils growing on the left near the big tree.

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Trying to get the view of the garden to the left of the big tree.

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2017

A visit to Lightwoods Park in November 2017. The house was restored, and the Shakespeare Garden was open, so I went in and had a look (was probably a weekday).

Being that it was late autumn, and almost winter at the time, the trees were mostly bare of leaves.

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A main path down the middle of the garden towards those trellises.

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In the middle was the Knot Garden with the box hedges. You can see Lightwoods House from here which is to the left.

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In 2012 during the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II this green plaque was unveiled about John Tradescant (1608 - 1662) who was a Royal Gardener. There was also a stone sculpture of him to the left of the plaque. From the Smethwick Local History Society.

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A lot of bright sunshine under the trellises towards the fountain in the centre.

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A close up look at the fountain. Was some benches around it to sit on.

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The far end of the garden down the main path. Lightwoods House to the right.

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Another part of the box hedges in the Knot Garden.

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2020

Early June 2020, and my first time back in Lightwoods Park for almost 3 years. While there, went past Lightwoods House and the Shakespeare Garden. But the gate was locked. Probably due to the pandemic / lockdown (I would assume that it has since reopened since my last visit).

Looks like they had installed a new gate here. I must have walked through it in 2017, so what happened to the old gate?

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With the new gate being locked, I again had to look at the garden through it. The grass was looking a bit long.

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Long grass on the border to the right. Flowers of pink and red colours.

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I couldn't see many more flowers to the left, just all looking green towards the box hedges to the far left.

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Outside was this sign with the opening hours of 10am to 4pm daily. No dogs are allowed in the garden, nor is bikes, scooters or skateboards. Children must be supervised.

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Hopefully the garden was allowed to reopen as of July 2020. I look forward to going into it again in the future.

 

Photos taken by Elliott Brown.

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