A long lost Victorian gateway has been reinstated into Victoria Gardens.
The new arched gateway with Portland stone pillars has been replicated using photos of the original design, which dates back to 1904 when the gardens were opened to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.
As part of the 2012 housing development of Officers Field on Portland, developers Zero C agreed to fund a variety of improvement projects within the gardens. The Friends of Victoria Gardens particularly supported the reinstatement of a new gateway. The project was overseen by Weymouth & Portland Borough Council’s Parks Team and, in order to complete the reinstatement of the gateway, the Court Leet of the Royal Manor of Portland generously donated £7,000 to the project.
A range of play equipment and new seating has also been installed in the gardens but there are more works to come, including a basketball area, disabled resting and viewing platform and some path improvement works.
Local building contractors, Island Builders, were involved in the gateway’s construction and undertook the walling and step construction work. Portwey Surfacing undertook the ground work and provided the finishing touches to the footways whilst Hyde Fabrications made and installed all the metalwork and Portland Stone constructed the pillars.
Carl Dallison, Weymouth & Portland Borough Council’s Open Space and Bereavement Services Manager said: “This project not only provides a new entranceway into the gardens but also an impressive gateway onto the Isle of Portland.
“I’d like to thank the Friends of Victoria Gardens for their support in bringing a bit of history back to the gardens and the Court Leet for their generous donation to the works.
“The gardens are a valuable amenity, which have served the community for over 100 years and offer the most stunning views across Chesil beach and Portland Harbour.”
Robert Grigsby, Chair of the Friends of Victoria Gardens said: “It’s been a long time but Victoria Gardens has got its gateway back thanks to the Friends’ vision. The striking arched ‘Victoria Gardens’ gateway can clearly be seen as you drive past the gardens and will be used by a huge number of visitors to this beautiful open space.
“The Friends group continues to work hard to raise money to reinvest in the gardens and we are currently funding new fencing panels to complement the gateway. We’d like to thank everyone who was involved in the project including head gardener, Patti Bolt, and her small team for completing the landscaping works.”
Philip George, Bailiff to the Court Leet said: “The Court Leet became aware that additional funding was required to reinstate an imposing arched gateway similar to the original of 1904 and agreed to support the project by donating the extra money.
“We are pleased to see how close to the original design the gateway is and are happy that we have helped to assist in recapturing a small but valued piece of Portland’s heritage.”
As a celebration of the improvements to the gardens, the Friends of Victoria Gardens have commissioned a history of the gardens, which will be published in booklet form and as an online resource, possibly as an e-book. They are looking for stories of how the gardens may have impacted on local people’s lives. If you have any stories that you would like to share then please send them to [email protected]
