South Cliff Gardens and Valley Gardens, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England

Site is open to the public. Opening may be limited, please check Visitor Information for any restrictions.

Brief description of site

South Cliff Gardens and Valley Gardens are part of a series of public walks and parks laid out from the mid-19th century until the 1930s. Joseph Paxton created Italianate terraced gardens in 1856. Other features include a bandstand and a summerhouse and a rose garden laid out in the late-19th century.

Brief history of site

A new Spa promenade was opened in 1839, and gardens were laid out by George Knowles. In 1856 Sir Joseph Paxton built a Grand Hall of local stone, an extended promenade, a bandstand, and Italianate gardens with formal flower beds and balustraded stone staircases negotiating the steep cliffs. In 1862, at the north end of South Cliff, the 'People's Park' (now Valley Gardens) was laid out by the town Corporation on either side of Valley Road. From around 1910 Harry W Smith laid out the South Cliff Gardens, where paths of easy gradient were edged with rocks from the beach, linking several separate gardens. In 1957, the Grand Hall, Spa, and Gardens were themselves purchased by the Corporation, thus uniting the whole of the Valley Gardens, Spa Gardens, and South Cliff Gardens under one ownership.

Location information:

OS Landranger Map Sheet Number:	101	Grid Ref:	TA045875
Latitude:	54.27248	Longitude:	-0.3967707

Key information:

Print preview