Friends Meeting House

CLICK HERE to view the panoramas

The Plantation Garden

showonmap 

The Plantation Garden

map 

The Italianate terrace

The Italianate terrace

magnifier

Faces of stone

magnifier

Faces of stone

Hidden from view from the busy road and known to locals as ‘The Secret Garden’, the Plantation Garden is a place of exceptional beauty and a sanctuary of peace and tranquility, just a short walk from the hustle and bustle of the city centre.

The garden was the creation of a local man, Henry Trevor (1819-1897), a successful and prosperous upholsterer and cabinet maker. In 1856 he took a long lease on a disused chalk quarry just outside the city walls and set about building himself a family home and creating, over the next forty years, what is now one of the finest surviving Victorian gardens in England.

Grade II listed, the Plantation Garden is almost three acres in area and features at one end a rustic bridge and at the other a terrace reminiscent of those to be found in the gardens of Rennaissance Italy. Both offer fine views looking down into the garden. In between are the splendid Gothic fountain, beautifully manicured lawns and flower beds, and a number of follies, including a Gothic alcove, a church window and a ‘medieval’ wall full of interesting patterns and designs. Paths at different levels on the steep banks to either side afford views of the garden and offer woodland walkways to explore. Display panels around the garden inform the visitor about the garden, its creator and its history.

Open every day of the year, the garden is administered by the Plantation Garden Preservation Trust and maintained by a dedicated team of volunteers. In the summer months afternoon teas are served on Sundays, and the garden hosts occasional evenings of outdoor cinema screenings.

To reach the garden from the city centre on foot, walk westward along the St Giles and Upper St Giles streets and take the footbridge across Grapes Hill. Continue heading out of the city for a short distance and cross Earlham Road at the pedestrian crossing. Watch out on the left for the small sign marking the entrance to the garden. Please note that there is no parking at the Plantation Garden.
The GPS coordinates of the entrance to the Plantation Garden are 52.629967, 1.282482.

For more information please click here to visit the official Plantation Garden website.

The Italianate terrace

The Italianate terrace

Faces of stone

Faces of stone

The Italianate terrace

magnifier

The Italianate terrace

Faces of stone

IFaces of stone

magnifier

© 2022 Norwich360
All Rights Reserved