The Heritage Garden Restoration Project

A brief history of Percy Cane and the rediscovery of the Heritage Garden

On National Libraries Day in 2016, garden historian Jill Sinclair talked about Percy Cane and the rediscovery of the Heritage Garden.

Approximately 85 years ago, Percy Cane laid out the garden at Oriel House (the site of Broomhill Community Library) – then a private residence. He was one of the most eminent designers of his day, producing gardens for the rich and famous at home and abroad. The elegant small garden he designed early in his career for Oriel House remained in place long after it became a public library in 1957.

Percy Caine was famous for his vistas including those at the Scottish Falkland Palace Garden and at Dartington Hall in Devon. His work on the Ethopian Palace Garden also created a stir in garden design circles. Cane was influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement and Peto, Jekyll and Lutyens in particular. The Arts and Crafts style was typified by the use of natural materials such as wood and stone.

Percy Cane hated the formal Victorian style with their formal beds. He preferred perennials, trees and shrubs. Stonework, urns, water and confident use of planting and colour typified his approach. The dipping well and the niche with statue in the Oriel House Garden are characteristic of Percy Cane’s approach to garden design.

The Arts and Craft movement was all about doing the best you can when making something. It also happens to be a great Sheffield tradition inspired by Ruskin and Morris. Sheffield has a history of crafting artisan products away from the great processes of mass production. In this way Sheffield’s heart could be said to be at the centre of the Percy Cane Garden.

The garden at the Oriel House was designed early in Percy Cane’s career and was the smallest of his designs. Jill Sinclair is confident that Percy Cane also laid out the front garden as the same stone has been used as the house. Four images of the Oriel House rear garden appeared in the publication ‘Garden Design’ a leading periodical at the time. These showed a pool garden, a pergola and statuary, a garden shelter and a dipping well for watering plants.

York stone paving, a popular arts and crafts material, was also used in the garden. Unfortunately the paving was stolen in 2003. As a result the rear garden was abandoned and became overgrown and derelict.

During clearance carried out at the Percy Cane Garden to the rear of Oriel House, he footprint of the Cane design was revealed. As trees and tangled thicket were removed, sunken remnants became visible such as the dipping well and the edge of the garden shelter.

Since 2015, volunteers have worked hard to excavate and restore the Heritage Garden. This work has involved clearing the land of debris, repairing the garden wall, and selecting new plantings that are consistent with those found in a traditional Victorian urban garden. The careful excavation work enabled us to trace the Garden's original outlines and revealed several "arts and crafts" features, such as the Wishing Well.

Repaired Garden Wall

Restoring and replanting the driveway rock garden

Wishing Well and close-up of the Lion's Head feature

Opening of the Pocket Park

During the pandemic, we managed to have a permitted gathering of 30 people to attend the opening of the Pocket Park in June 2021. thanks to funding from the Government's Pocket Park Scheme, a series of Spring plantings took place in the Rock Garden; shrubs and plants were chosen to bloom in sequence throughout the year.

Engaging our community in the Heritage Garden restoration project

Garden Blitz Volunteers

The Garden Blitz team of volunteers meet weekly to help to clear Percy Cane's Heritage Garden. All levels of experience welcome.

The Great Big Green Week

The annual Great Big Green Week encourages new volunteers to join us to help restore the garden. The week's events include a plant sale and seed swap

Involving students of all ages

We find opportunities to encourage young people to actively participate in the restoration of the Heritage Garden. Here, young archeologists from Broomhill Infant School work alongside University students to help uncover more of the garden. Armed with trowels and tooth brushes, they helped dig out the garden's central fountain. The sharp-eyed youngsters were thrilled to find pieces of Victorian pottery and an old clay pipe.

The Open Garden

The garden is open to our community at all times. At various times of the year, we also offer self-guided tours and guided talks about the Heritage Garden. During Open Heritage Days, we promote these tours and talks to a wider audience.

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