Shrubbery Garden

Summary

A multi-phase cliffside garden originating in 1794, retaining its original layout of paths, with tree planting dating from 1809 and retaining part of a fantasy garden created in 1935, known as “Never-Never Land”.

Reasons for Designation

Shrubbery Garden is registered at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* for its early origins dating from 1794, as one of the earliest features created for the fashionable new resort of Southend-on-Sea;
* for the retention of its original layout with the straight path opposite the Royal Hotel where late-C18 guests could permambulate and socialise, and the original serpentine paths gently following the contours of the cliff;
* for the survival of the tree plantation by Lady Langham in 1809;
* for the surviving elements of the fantasy land “Never-Never Land”, a reminder of the huge popularity of the gardens and of the resort of Southend throughout the mid-C20.

Group value:

* with the Grade II-listed Royal Terrace.

History

Southend-on-Sea grew out of Prittlewell, the largest of the six medieval parishes which constitute the modern settlement. By the late C19 Southend had overtaken its mother parish in importance and in 1892 it became officially recognised as a town, when it was incorporated; ‘on-Sea’ being added the following year.

The name ‘Sowthende’ first appears in a will of 1481, although what is now known as Southend did not begin to become urbanised until around 1700, when oyster cultivation began in the area. Within 20 years the whole of the foreshore from Southchurch westwards to Leigh was leased as oyster feeding grounds and oystermen’s huts began to be built, followed by humble terraces of cottages. Visitors started to come in small numbers to bathe in the sea, and in 1791 a syndicate was set up to develop a resort at ‘New Southend’. The Grand Terrace was built, renamed The Royal Terrace in 1804, after Princess Caroline, wife of the Prince of Wales, stayed there. The royal association boosted popularity, and in 1829 the first pier was built, owned by the wealthy Langham baronets. The coming of the railways in the mid-C19 stimulated growth, first in 1856 with the London, Tilbury & Southend Railway, which led to the development of Clifftown, followed by the Great Eastern in 1889. Southend flourished from the end of the C19 to the first half of the C20, but its popularity as a resort declined towards the end of the C20. Further change in the early C21 includes the establishment of a Southend campus as part of the University of Essex, and the formal granting of city status in January 2022.

From 1794, to complement the construction of 1-15 the Terrace and the Grand Hotel, later the Royal Hotel, the land between the terrace and the shore was laid out as an informal private garden for residents which became known as the Shrubbery. In 1809 Lady Langham, a large property owner in the area, planted and enclosed a grove of trees to mark the forthcoming Golden Jubilee of George III at the western end of the Shrubbery. Early leases indicate that residents of the Royal Hotel were required to pay to maintain the gardens but a guide to Southend published in 1824 stated “(the Shrubbery) has been allowed, in a great measure, to fall to decay, and now deserves more the name of wilderness” though in a footnote it noted that ‘a gentleman has entered upon the work of improvement with zeal and activity’. The result of this activity was the creation of a Board of Trustees to manage the gardens. They enclosed the Shrubbery in 1825 creating walks, adding benches, planting trees and shrubs. They also employed an attendant “to expel improper persons and to keep the place in order”. An entrance charge of three pence per day was applied with subscribers paying a further 10 shillings per year for a family and one shilling per week for visitors. In 1918, the ownership was transferred to the Borough of Southend. Entrance fees continued up until the early 1970s.

Aerial photographs from the 1920s and 1930s show that both western and eastern side of the gardens were quite densely planted with trees at this time.

In 1935, to coincide with Southend’s first “Festival of Light” (the town’s attempt to rival Blackpool’s illuminations), a themed area was created within the Shubbery known as “Never-Never Land” (in reference to J M Barrie’s “Peter Pan”. It featured model cartoon characters, goblins, smoke breathing dragons, fairies with magical castles, thousands of multicoloured lights and a model railway running throughout the park. Owned by the Council, these displays were refreshed every year to maintain their attraction for visitors. For a few weeks in late summer through early autumn it proved a popular attraction, drawing many visitors to Southend.

The heyday of Never-Never Land was during 1950s when people would queue for hours to visit the park, but from the1960s as the popularity of the British seaside began to decline, visitor numbers dwindled and Never-Never Land closed at the end of the 1972 season. Most of the models, castles, lights and railway were scrapped, the area was then returned to an open park. Today a small remainder of the fairy castles and landscaping around them remain.

In the late C20 to early C21, the planting in the park was augmented with trachycarpus and small conifers, gravel paths were given metalled surfaces, and railings were added to many of the paths.

Details

The Shrubbery Gardens are laid out on the cliffside, formed from a small wooded area on the cliffs. A network of serpentine paths descend the cliff creating routes through the wood and from the top to the bottom of the cliffs.

TERRACE WALKWAY, GATES AND ENTRANCES: there are three entrance gateways to the north end of the Shrubbery, a small gate at the east and west ends, and a larger, central gateway, defined by an ornate cast-iron entrance canopy and a flight of shallow steps.

The original straight pathway opposite the Royal Terrace is clearly defined, separated from both the road and from the rest of the gardens by iron railings either side, and covered with a C20 metalled surface.

SERPENTINE PATHS: the serpentine paths, following their original layout, wind through the gardens providing a gentle descent of the cliff and offer a variety of different routes of descent.

LADY LANGHAM’S GROVE: the western side of the Shrubbery contains numerous mature oak trees thought to be the grove of trees planted by Lady Langham in 1809.

EASTERN SIDE: the eastern side of the Shrubbery retains its original layout of paths and its more open character. There are a number of trachycarpus planted in the late-C20 and some coniferous planting.

NEVER-NEVER LAND: a small area in the south-eastern part of the gardens contains the surviving part of Never-Never Land, originally created in 1935. The date of the castles is uncertain as the displays were regularly updated. The area contains a landscape of rock formations, surrounded by streams of running water, including a waterfall. The rock formations are surmounted by six small, fantasy castles formed from whitewashed cement, with red painted roofs to resemble tiles.

The lower (southern) boundary of the garden is contained by early-C21 decorative railings and gatepiers formed from decorative gabions. It is reported (March 2025) that a new building is under construction in the far south-eastern corner.

Sources

Websites
Essex Gardens Trust – Historic Designed Landscapes of Essex, Inventory- Designed Landscapes of CITY OF SOUTHEND-ON-SEA, accessed 5 February 2025 from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56c43a1a01dbae7b426bbbc9/t/678ffcfecfb4724d8080a905/1737489687048/Southend+inventory+Final+pdf+%281%29.pdf
Clifftown Conservation Area Appraisal , accessed 6 January 2025 from https://www.southend.gov.uk/conservation-areas/clifftown-conservation-area
Historic England Aerial Photography Explorer, accessed 6 January 2025 from https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/archive/collections/aerial-photos/record/EPW000549
Historic England Aerial Photography Explorer, accessed 7 January 2025 from https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/archive/collections/aerial-photos/record/EPW024885
Historic England Aerial Photography Explorer, accessed 7 January 2025 from https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/archive/collections/aerial-photos/record/EPW036618
Historic England Aerial Photography Explorer, accessed 7 January 2025 from https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/archive/collections/aerial-photos/record/EAW002211
Milton Society Website- history of the cliff gardens, accessed 21 March 2025 from https://miltonsociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Southend-Cliff-Gardens-PUBLISHED-SEPTEMBER.pdf
Illustrations of Never Never Land in 1950, accessed 21 March 2025 from https://www.tuckdbpostcards.org/items/133669-pygmie-fair-never-never-land-southend-illuminations
Echo News archive of Southend , accessed 21 March 2025 from https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23314210.archives-southends-never-never-land/#gallery0
Southend Timeline website, accessed 21 March 2025 from https://www.southendtimeline.co.uk/2/southend-timeline-never-never-land-history-of-southend-on-sea.html

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