Ever heard of Devon Gardens? For many people in Burngreave, it’s not a major feature on the landscape. Yet this tiny pocket park, located at the top of Abbeyfield Road, is one of several heritage sites in the area.
The story of its creation, and of how it has kept its unusual character, is one that illustrates some of the changes in the social and cultural history of Sheffield.
At first glance, the park doesn’t appear to look anything special. A bit of research shows how its development reflected a time when Burngreave was a fashionable neighbourhood for the aristocracy and professional classes to live in.
During the late 1800s and early 1900s there was a flurry of house building on what were then the outskirts of Sheffield. As large, gracious villas began to appear along Abbeyfield Road and Burngreave Road, the area changed dramatically in character from rural to urban and it was at this point that the need for green spaces was recognised.
In 1912, the 7th Earl Fitzwilliam offered a small parcel of land off Abbeyfield Road to the Sheffield Corporation, on the condition that it was fenced and maintained as a recreational space. A couple of years later, in 1914, Devon Gardens opened to the public, offering “…a pleasant retreat for people wishing rest and quietness”.
Built in the style of an Edwardian town square, it had a circular path, flower beds filled with roses and spacious lawns. The Gardens were nicknamed ‘the Nanny Park’, because of their popularity with nannies and children in their care from the big houses nearby.
Although the gardens’ fortunes fluctuated, with complaints that they weren’t being maintained even as far back as 1928, they were still a place of beauty and tranquillity in the 1950s. Arriving to live on Abbeyfield Road in 1957, Dorrett Buckley Greaves described the gardens as, “Serene – a place to watch the world go by and be at peace. And such a mass of roses!”
Whilst the days of nannies pushing prams in the park had gone, she remembers her neighbours as “All posh people: they were well spoken and sophisticated… but snooty. One of them had been a nanny who had married the father of her charges when his first wife died. Another one used to dress like the Queen Mother!”
It is only by a curious combination of neglect and direct community action that the character of the park has been preserved. A shortage of funds in the ’60s and ’70s led to the park’s decline, but in the 1980s they were targeted for improvement.
However when work began, residents objected to the lack of consultation and demanded that the original features and layout of the gardens were kept. As a result the essential character of the park was saved from destruction and a small piece of Burngreave’s heritage preserved.
What does the future hold? Whilst new plans are afoot to improve the gardens, this time they will take account of residents’ views: Burngreave Green Environment Programme (BGEP) and the Greenwatch Rangers have held events locally to find out what people liked about the park and wanted to see improved. They hope to get some additional funds to add facilities such as benches and bins but also to repair the existing paths and plant more colourful borders, in keeping with the original character of the park.
by Nikky Wilson, Burngreave Voices
If you want to read more about the history of Devon Gardens, come to Burngreave Library and ask for the Devon Gardens report.
BGEP, Greenwatch Rangers and Burngreave Voices organised a Victorian tea party in the park one warm April afternoon. Whilst drinking tea and eating cake, people were invited to talk about their memories of the park and why they think it’s special.
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