The Percy Cane Heritage Garden
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About Percy Cane
"Designing gardens is an art....To make a beautiful garden the garden-maker must not only know what he is going to do, but also why he is doing it."
Stephen Percival Cane (1881-1976) was an English garden designer and writer. During the course of his career, he designed many gardens in the U.K. and abroad, won at least 8 medals for his gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show, and published four influential books on garden design. His gardens were in the Arts and Crafts Style which sees the garden as an extension of the house and values simplicity, utility and the use of choise materials, including plants.
Today, many of his gardens are officially celebrated as designed landscapes of note, and we our garden similarly recognised.
In the late 1920s, he designed a new garden around a Victorian villa for steel baron Arthur Samuel Lee on Taptonville Road in Sheffield - now the site of Broomhill Community Library.
Further reading
The History Garden Blog. Percy Cane - Unsung Hero. This article includes photos and reference to our heritage garden.
The History Garden Blog, Percy Cane
Arts and Crafts Garden design - Homes and Gardens article
A brief history of the Percy Cane garden at 10 Taptonville Road.
After many years of neglect, this rare garden was re-discovered by library volunteers in 2014. Since then, with the help of others, we have worked hard to gradually reclaim and restore the garden.
Extracted from South Yorkshire Local Heritage Listing 2023 and additional local references.
The gardens at 10 Taptonville Road were laid out in the mid- to late-1920s in an Arts & Crafts style by eminent English garden designer Percy Cane for the industrialist Arthur Samuel Lee.
Originally a private home, 10 Taptonville Road was purchased by Sheffield City Council in 1956 and served as a public library and garden. Under the Council's management, the gardens continued to be maintained and there were plans to apply to add them to the National Register of Parks and Gardens. In 2003, when many of the York stone flags were stolen from the rear garden, the plans for registration were halted and maintenance of the garden largely ceased.
When the site became a volunteer-run library in 2014, all parts of the garden were overgrown. Beginning in 2014, library volunteers have worked hard to gradually reclaim and restore the garden.
Additional resources
ArcHeritage - Archaeological Investigations at Broomhill Library Garden, 2019
This report details the community archeaology project conducted in 2017-2018 under the supervision of ArcHeritage. Fieldwork revealed that significant elements of the Percy Cane garden survive.
The Garden History Blog: An Unsung Hero, Marsh, D (October 2019)
This garden was probably one of the smallest sites where Percy Cane worked. He published four images of the completed rear garden in the Spring of 1931 edition of Garden Design, in an effort to be "of real assistance to the owners of even quite small gardens."
South Yorkshire Local Heritage Listing (2023)
"This a rare inter-war garden almost frozen in time. There are very few gardens of this period and style left, and it is remarkable how public ownership has allowed the rear garden in particular to be preserved almost unchanged (save for the theft of many of the flagstones)."
Inspired by the Past, Jill Sinclair. Historic Gardens Review, June 2016.
In this article, landscape historian Jill Sinclair writes of the garden Percy Cane was commissioned to design for Sheffield steel magnate Arthur Samuel Lee at his Victorian villa in the Broomhill district. It was a project that Cane chose to highlight as one of his successful smaller gardens.
Sheffield Star June 2021. "Abandoned library garden in Sheffield suburb reopens after being rejuvenated by community volunteers."
Audio tour of the garden, its history and restoration.
Archaeological Investigation and Restoration work
The garden fell into neglect after many of its York stone slabs were stolen in 2003. In 2015, volunteers, working with archaeologists, found significant evidence of the rear garden under 15 plus years of rampant weed growth. Since then we've 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 echo those often used by Cane. The careful excavation work enabled us to trace the Garden's original outlines and revealed several "arts and crafts" features.
Community Archaeological Investigations - 2017-2018
Under the supervision of ArcHeritage, this project enabled local school children and volunteers to engage with the archaeology of the garden and the library, as well as providing work experience and community engagement for archaeology students from the University of Sheffield. There were a total of 90 participant hours in the 2017 season, with 10 volunteers and 20 school children undertaking archaeological works. In 2018, there were 85 participant hours and 11 volunteers.
With gratitude for their support and many efforts:
Broomhill Community Library Garden Group
Sheffield City Council
Sheffield University School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
On National Libraries Day in 2016, landscape 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 for Emperor Haile Selassie 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 garden was typified by its close relationship with the house and its use of natural materials such as wood and stone.
Percy Cane hated fussy Victorian style with their garish beddings. He preferred perennials, trees and shrubs. Stonework, urns, water and confident use of planting and colour typified his approach. The dipping well and niche with its statue, the pale paving, sunken terrace and formal pool are characteristics of his style as found at Oriel House.
The Arts and Craft movement focused on craftsmanship and the use of fine natural materials. 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 one of 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.
Heritage Garden map
The Percy Cane Heritage Garden is comprised of three parts:
The Rock Garden along the side of the driveway includes the Lion's Head Fountain
The Rear Garden includes the Pool, Dipping Well, Wall, and Shelter
The Front Garden
Restoring the Pool (rear garden)
A side-view of the garden shelter in the rear garden after excavations in 2017 (rear garden)
The Lions Head Fountain was uncovered by volunteers in 2016 (Rock Garden)
Restoring the Dipping Well (rear garden)
Rebuilding the wall (rear garden)
A Sycamore tree in the neighbouring property had, over many years, weakened the wall. First repairs of the wall were made in 2018 but they didn't last long! In May 2019, half the wall suddenly collapsed into the garden. The Sycamore tree was subseqently removed, and a fullscale restoration of the wall took place.
Restoring and replanting the Rock Garden 2020.
Opening of the Rock Garden 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, we were able to complete plant new shrubs and plants. The plants were chosen to refelc those that Percy Cane used in similar designs, to attract wildlife, and to off year-round interest.
Excavation discoveries
Engaging our community in the Heritage Garden restoration project
Garden Blitz Volunteers
The Garden Blitz team of volunteers meet weekly to help to clear the 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. We also offer self-guided tours and guided talks about the Heritage Garden during Heritage Open Days and at various other times during the year.
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