Popular Yorkshire rock garden in North Yorkshire gifted to community to safeguard its future

The Edwardian garden in Aysgarth, Wensleydale, now belongs to the parish council following the decision by its former owners to move house.

Adrian and Rosemary Anderson who bought the rock garden in 2012, have kept it maintained and open to visitors throughout the year since they took over ownership.

However after deciding to sell their Wensleydale home to settle in York, the couple wanted to ensure the garden would remain open and accessible to the public.

Having looked at gifting the 0.14 acre walled site to the National Trust or English Heritage without success, they approached Aysgarth and District Parish Council and its chairman, John Dinsdale.

Coun Dinsdale said the parish councillors agreed it would be an “honour” to continue the garden’s legacy.

“When Adrian and Rosemary Anderson approached me regarding Aysgarth and District Parish Council taking over the control and maintenance of the Edwardian Rock Garden, I put it to the parish council and we decided we would be honoured to preserve an important part of the local history for the community.

“Not only is it a unique, beautiful and calm place, but it is of national importance,” Coun Dinsdale said.

Mrs Anderson said Coun Dinsdale had been “enthusiastic from the start”.

“But it is a big responsibility looking after the garden all the time,” she said, “and the people in Aysgarth have been so supportive.”

It is not the first time the community has stepped in to help protect the rock garden.

In the late 1980s the plot was under threat of being sold for development, but following a local campaign was saved through taking the highly unusual step of giving it Grade II listed building status.

Mr and Mrs Anderson were invited to address the parish council in November last year, before an independent report was made on the structural condition of the Edwardian garden.

In February this year the councillors decided the recommendations it made were “relatively minor and not costly”.

The proposal was accepted and the council took ownership in September.

The garden in Aysgarth dates back to the early twentieth century when alpine plants and gardens were increasingly popular.

Built for local man and passionate gardener, Frank Sayer Graham, the garden is one of the rare surviving examples of a ‘Backhouse’ garden, with a walk-through grotto design. The Backhouse firm was based in York.

It has had a chequered history as a private garden, having been owned by different people and not always maintained.

Even its listed status did not always protect it and in the late 1990s when it was bought by Angela and Peter Jauneika, it had become neglected and overgrown.

But Mrs Jauneika devoted several years to restoring it and bringing it back to its former glory.

Now with its future secured, the garden remains open to the public with social distancing in place. The Parish Council would also like to hear from any volunteers who could help with weeding and general maintenance.

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James Mitchinson