Ashton Gardens, (also known as St George's Gardens), Lytham St Annes, England

Ashton Gardens were originally named St George's Gardens when they were first created in the late 19th century.  The garden was rectangular in design and contained lawns, flower beds, ponds and avenues of trees.  They were designed by the landscape gardener E. Thomas.

The gardens were originally created as a commercial enterprise to attract visitors, but the company that owned them had problems in making them cost-effective.  The gardens were offered to a forerunner of the local council to purchase because otherwise the land would have been built over.

Unfortunately the two parties had many disagreements about what to do with the land.  When the owning company put restrictions on the sale of the land so that the council could not alter the original design, the council approached Parliament.  This action resulted in a referendum being held in 1914 to determine whether the local population wanted the council to buy the gardens or not.  At the last minute Lord Ashton stepped in and offered to buy the gardens for the town at a cost of £21,350.  This offer was accepted.

Ashton then later purchased a further 1 hectare (2.5 acres) of surrounding land.  This expanded the gardens from 4 hectares (12 acres) to 5 hectares (12.5 acres).

Ashton re-landscaped and re-named the gardens.  They were opened to the public for the first time on 30 June 1916.

During the later 20th century the gardens were a cause of further debate, when the council proposed to sell off parts of the gardens.  These plans were opposed by the Supporters of Ashton Gardens.  In June 2007 the council received a grant of almost £1.5 million, which it plans to use to restore and remodel the gardens.

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. 

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

Gardens called St George's Gardens were laid out on the site in 1874-5 by E Thomas, a landscape gardener from Aughton, for a subsidiary of the St Annes on Sea Land and Building Company. In 1896 they were offered to the local council for £12,000, who turned the offer down. The lease was taken over by O J Porritt and the Gardens were offered to the council again in 1912 when Porritt applied to build on them. The council was reluctant to spend the sum of money required as it would have necessitated raising rates, so a poll to decide the matter was arranged. On the eve of the poll Lord Ashton donated more than £25,000 so that the land could be purchased and improvements made. A competition for the design was organised and won by local man F Harrison in January 1914. Work on the renamed Ashton Gardens started soon afterwards and the council resolved to continue it despite the outbreak of war. The Gardens were opened in 1916.