Stewart Park, MiddlesbroughHeritage Lottery Funded Restoration 2006-2012

2

Shaping the LandscapeThree Middlesbrough Greats

The first owner of the land within the mod-ern day park was Bartholomew Rudd who pur-chased it in 1786. He rebuilt the house known as Marton Lodge and altered the adjacent agricul-tural land to form a setting for it. Rudd is also be-lieved to have removed the cottage where Captain James Cook FRSN (1728 – 1779) was born in or-der to achieve a garden landscape and woodland.

A granite vase (Grade II) marks the spot where the cottage once stood. The Captain Cook Birth-place Museum, situated in the centre of the park, celebrates this connection and visitors come from all over the world to find out about the fascinat-ing life of this local legend. This makes Stewart Park a destination, not just for local visitors, but for national and international visitors too. Stewart Park is a showpiece for Middlesbrough and provides the setting against which the lfe and work of Cook is presented.

When the project began the park received 400,000 park visits per year and 88,000 to the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum making it the 4th most popular visitor attraction in the North East (One North East Tourism Team, 2008).

Marton Lodge was destroyed by fire in 1832 and 1853 the Marton Estate was purchased by Henry W. F. Bolckow. An industrial entrepreneur, Bolckow changed the face of Middlesbrough through the suc-cess of his firm, Bolckow & Vaughan, opening the first iron works in Middlesbrough in 1841 and develop-ing Middlesbrough into a prosperous `Iron Town’. At its height in 1864 Bolckow & Vaughan was the company with the largest turnover in Britain (£2.4 million). Bolckow was Mayor of Middlesbrough until his death in 1878 and was the town’s first M.P.

On purchasing the estate in 1853 Henry Bolckow built Marton Hall on a commanding terrace framed by plantations. The house was lavishly furnished and decorated and held an art collection which was said to be comparable to Queen Victoria’s. Bolckow’s parkland and pleasure grounds were similarly grandiose with numerous fashionable features. The landscape designer was not men-tioned in 19th century articles on the gardens and remains unknown, but the design included extensive tree planting, a lake, lodges, a walled garden with extensive glasshouses, model farm buildings, wooded pleasure grounds, ponds, or-namental gardens and a garden temple (Grade II).

The Marton Hall estate declined fol-lowing Henry Bolckow’s death in 1878. Having no heir Bolckow left it to his nephew Carl who sold the contents of the hall in 1907 and the estate in 1924.

Middlesbrough Corporation and Thomas Dormand Stewart purchased Marton Hall and parkland in 1924. A public park was laid out and opened in 1928 and this was commemorated by an inscribed plaque on the gateposts at the north entrance.

It is this man after whom the park takes its name. Stewart intended it to be ‘a public possession, open and accessible to all the people for all time’.

Stewart Park is the largest public park in Mid-dlesbrough, formerly the site of the Marton Hall Estate which was laid out by the prominent Middlesbrough industrialist Henry Bolckow. The park comprises the remains of Marton Hall, its gardens and parkland, including a number of significant landscape and built features, but is also particularly significant as the birth-place of the explorer Captain Cook. The park was gifted to the town in 1928 by Thomas Dorman Stewart, a local councillor.

Middlesbrough Council recognised that the rich history of the park needed to be preserved and enhanced for future generations, but also that the park’s facilities and infrastructure did not meet modern leisure needs. The Heritage Lot-tery Fund was identified as the best source of potential funding to improve the park. This would enable Middlesbrough Council to safe-guard the future of the park, helping continue the ongoing improvement programme for the parks and public open spaces in the town and help-ing preserve a significant historic landscape.

In August 2006 Southern Green Ltd was commis-sioned to prepare a Conservation Management Plan for the restoration of the park. The main purpose of this was to inform a Stage 1 appli-cation under the Heritage Lottery Fund ‘Parks for People’ programme. Middlesbrough Coun-cil’s Landscape Design Team prepared the Stage 1 application, having already developed an out-line masterplan for the site which brought to-gether the aspirations for its future restoration. The application secured a Stage 1 pass.

Southern Green was re-appointed to develop Stage 2 of the project and in 2009 HLF grant fund-ing of £4.3m was secured. This enabled the pro-ject to be taken through to the development stage with construction works starting on site in 2011. The scale and complexity of the project meant that work had to be carried out through a number of separate contracts in accordance with OJEU and Middlesbrough Council procedures. The works were completed in 2012.

Henry Bolckow Thomas Dorman Stewart

PhilanthropistIndustrialistCaptain James Cook

Explorer

3

Understanding the HeritageTeam working

The park has many layers of history, and it was always im-portant to the team that these layers of history should be understood and interpreted through the project.

Historic research was essential to understand the wide range of uses the park had accommodated. For example, Marton Hall was used by the 12th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment from 1915 whose occupation is well documented in a series of photographs. The park was also used as a base for the Home Guard who used the lantern tower of the hall as a lookout post for fires.

The opening ceremony took place in 1928 and since then there have been numerous communal activities such as concerts and ice skating, commemorations for the bicentenary of Captain Cook’s birth. Through the project whole new layers of history would be created, and it was important that the correct range of specialists was included in the team that developed new proposals, to ensure that they fitted with the restoration of heritage elements.

The team that prepared the restoration proposals was extensive, but the following key professional were vital to the project’s success:

Landscape architects - to masterplan the restoration of the park and to ensure a balance between conservation of an historic landscape and improvements to improve the sustainability of the park

Conservation architects - to ensure that heritage buildings were appropriately and sensitively restored

Engineers - to manage the remediation of contaminated ground, to introduce sustainable technology to the buildings, to ensure structural safety of all the works and to detail drainage improvements across the site

Quantity surveyors - to ensure cost control throughout the scheme, bringing the project in on budget

Project managers - to ensure project co-ordination and to help the team work together to achieve project deadlines

Public consultation specialists - to ensure all park users and stakeholders were consulted and given an opportunity to contribute to the development of the scheme

Many other specialists - including ecologists, arborists, archaeologists, garden historians, historians from the Captain Cook Museum and project champions such as John Grundy

Middlesbrough Council expertise was also fundamental to the success of the project. As well as in house landscape architectural expertise, engineering ad-vice and project management, Middlesbrough Council contributed:

Landscape architects - four chartered landscape architects were involved in developing the initial masterplan and in overseeing the project.

Planning officers - working with the planning department from the very begin-ning helped the professional team to design a scheme that fulfilled local plan-ning objectives and regulations

Conservation officers - guidance regarding the potential and constraints for restoring the listed buildings on the site was invaluable

Park staff - the knowledge and expertise of park managers, rangers and other site-based staff ensured that proposals were practical, with future management always being at the forefront of design considerations

Social Care staff - whose input ensured the integration of the Vocational Train-ing Centre into the scheme

Area Care staff - whose contributions helped ensure a full understanding of on-site operational issues

Clerk of Works - an in-house Clerk of Works provided by the Council, which en-sured that construction works were overseen by someone with a full knowledge of the site and of Council procedures.

4

Understanding the HeritageConservation Management Plan & Stage 1 HLF Bid

Stable Yard Restoration inc. Visitor Centre, Vocational Training Centre, Cafe & Walled Garden, Animal Care Centre, Rangers Base, Education Room, New Toilet Facilities including a ‘Changing Places’ Toilet

Upper Lakes

Loggia Restoration

Temple Restoration

Bolckow Flower Garden

Stokesley Road Entrance

Marton Crossroads Entrance

SUDS System and Drainage Improvements Lower Lake Restoration

Car Park Improvements

Animal Pens Relocation

Orientation Space

Captain Cook Play Area

Footpaths, Signage, Street Furniture

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10 11

12

13

14

14

14

14

Middlesbrough Council had been looking to re-store Stewart Park for a considerable length of time and a substantial amount of work had already been carried out in anticipation of this. Heritage Lot-tery and Big Lottery funding provided the oppor-tunity to safeguard the future of the park, helping continue the ongoing improvement programme for the parks and public open spaces in the town and helping preserve a significant historic landscape.

In August 2006 Middlesbrough Council commis-sioned Southern Green Ltd to produce a Con-servation Management Plan for Stewart Park, in order to support an application to the Herit-age Lottery Fund under the Parks for People pro-gramme, for the restoration of Stewart Park.

Conservation Management Plan built upon the stud-ies and filled in gaps of knowledge, interpreting this information and presenting it in one comprehen-sive document that will help provide a way forward for the restoration via the Heritage Lottery Fund.

As part of the Conservation Management Plan Southern Green was responsible for carrying out and commissioning the following studies:

• Landscape Assessment Southern Green Ltd• Historic Research Fiona Green• Phase 1 Habitat Survey E3 Ecology• Buildings Surveys David Carruthers• Archaeological Report Tees Archaeology• Arboricultural Survey AllAboutTrees• Drainage Report Entec• Sustainability Report Scurlock Technical Services• Access Plan Ray Hopper Associates• Audience Development Plan Ray Hopper Associates• Training Plan Ray Hopper Associates

The Plan emphasized the historical significance of the site as the birthplace of Cap-tain Cook, the succession of important owners Rudd, Bolckow and Stewart, its land-scape significance as an originally an 18th century landscape later developed by Bol-ckow into a 19th century parkland, arboretum, formal gardens, walled garden and model farm, and its social significance as being bought by Thomas Dormand Stewart with the express purpose of offering the estate to Middlesbrough Council for use as a park which provides a vital resource the local community and a venue for the Cleveland Show.

1. 1894 OS Map 2. HLF Masterplan

Google Maps © Google.com

5

Understanding the Needs of UsersStakeholder Consultation

A large team of stakeholders was invovled in the development of the CMP. This included:

Captain Cook Birthplace MuseumTrustees include the Lord Lieutenant Lord Craythorne, the ward and executive councillors for Environment, local residents, the chair of the Marton Community Council and Museum staff.

Friends of Stewart ParkThis was set up with support from officers of the Local Authority as a combined group to represent both the park and the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum.

The Cleveland Show CommitteeThis annual event began as the Stockton Show in 1944 and was first held in Stewart Park in 1963. The event now attracts up to 20,000 people per year.

Young RangersThe Young Rangers Group is for 7-13 year olds who work with park rangers to undertake various works within the park.

The Stewart Park Consultative GroupFormed in 1998 and comprising some 40 representatives of which five are park officers.

The Marton Community Council The Community Council works with the two Ward Councillors on behalf of residents of Marton village, which is adjacent to the park.

Middlesbrough Learning PartnershipA strategic partnership of all the learning and training organisations operating within Middlesbrough.

Askham Bryan College, York and GuisboroughA specialist land-based training college, which was keen to extend its reach by using Stewart Park as a facility. The college offers short courses and eveneing classes.

Middlesbrough CollegeA local college that works in partnership with Askham Bryan to facilitate land-based training for Middlesbrough and the Tees Valley, with an involvement in managing some of the park buildings.

The Captain Cook SchoolA local primary with well-established links to Stewart Park and a programme of park based activities built into its curriculum.

Teesside UniversityInvolved in a pioneering virtual reality (VR) public consultation research study using Stewart Park’s ‘Parks for People’ proposals as a basis for research.

Cleveland College of Art and Design (CCAD)Students from the college were keen to explore the Captain Cook link as part of their designs sculpture and seating.

The Tees ForestThe Tees Forest occupy some of the park offices and implemented and administer an area of youg woodland in the park known as ‘The Family Wood’.

Middlesbrough Environment CitySpecialists in sustainability, whose interest in the park is better ac-cess through cycling, bus and train routes.

The Wildflower ArkBased in Nature’s World, the group has advised on the rare grassland species in the park and given advice to the Stewart Park Friends.

Social Care and Children, Families and Learning Departments, Middlesbrough Council These two Council departments were keenly involved in the mas-terplan development for their future plans to develop a vocational training facility in the former stable yard buildings.

Corporate Sustainability TeamThe team backed low carbon initiatives proposed at the park and audited the proposals for environmental sustainability.

Ormesby HallThis National Trust estate is situated to the east of the park and National Trust apprentices sent to Stewart Park for horticultural training.

Local Authority Parks DepartmentInvolved in development and training opportunities throughout the project.

As lead consultant, Southern Green’s involve-ment spanned 7 years from 2006 to 2013. However, the scheme had been in the planning stag-es at Middlesbrough Council for much longer. Early liaison between design team, specialists and con-tractors enabled the integration of new technologies into works on site, and a system of consultation that was put into place has since been applied to other projects.

Altogether the scheme required a sustained effort from all members of the team (including the wider team of sub-consultants, contractors and volunteers) for almost a decade. The photo above shows one of the many con-sultation sessions that took place with stakeholders - this meeting involved representatives of the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum, park managers, park rangers and members of the Area Care team.

The list on the left gives a flavour of the wide range of stakeholders and consultees invovled in this com-plex project. It is testament to the high levels of co-operation, communication and consultation that were achieved throughout his time that the completed project has been so successful.

6

The main landscaping contract (£1.45m) included: restoration of historic entrances, the temple and loggia; desilting and remodelling of a boating lake and sequence of ornamental ponds; reinstatement of two historic bridges; reintroduc-tion of a lost flower garden; improvements to drainage and the footpath network; thinning of trees and shrubs in prepara-tion for extensive planting works; new street furniture and signage across the park and car park improvement works.

The stable yard contract(£3.9m) incorporated internal works in the Vocational Training Centre, for which additional funding was provided by Middlesbrough Council. The main building works contract employed heritage techniques to restore a collection of listed buildings that once formed part of the stable block complex for Marton Hall. New uses were found for these buildings, in-cluding a new rangers and volunteers base, new public toilets and a range of offices for park staff. A new visitors centre and educa-tion room completed the space, along with restoration of the animal care centre by Middlesbrough College. park staff. A new visi-tors centre and education room completed the space, along with restoration of the animal care centre by Middlesbrough College.

Tree works were a particularly sensitive matter, so a consultation strategy was agreed with the client in advance of the works. This included the preparation of tree posters (below) to explain when works would be taking place and the various reasons

Developing the DetailStage 2 Bid & DeliveryStage 2 provided the opportunity to develop the masterplan in more detail, including gathering sur-vey information, filling in gaps from theStage 1 application and thinking about how the works would be de-livered. Phasing of the works was complex and careful planning was needed to allow works to proceed in accordance with seasonal conditions and ecologial constraints, including specialist heritage crafts, carefully managing a contaminated site both safely and economically, whilst mitigating undue disruption to the public and council staff operating from and working within the park. The park remained open throughout the works with around 1 million visits taking place during this time. Strategic thinking early in the procurement and planning process was required to identify potential issues, whilst hands on management was vitally important ensuring health and safety was never compromised. Sectional completions were included to facilitate early occupation and handover where this was of benefit to the client.

Extensive survey work was required at this stage:

Buildings Surveys• A full survey of the below ground drainage system for all buildings within the stable yard

complex• Type 3 (intrusive) asbestos surveys for all buildings in the park • Electrical installations to buildings in the stable yard complex to be inspected• Elevational surveys of the Loggia and Temple

Historic Information• Further research to inform the detailed planting proposals, the restoration of landscape

features and the buildings, in particular the stable block complex• Research into the walled garden and courtyards in order to inform the detailed proposals

and interpretation• Research into the salvaged architectural features located to the rear of the stable block so

they could be displayed and interpreted appropriately

Archaeological Information• Although there has been a series of archaeological digs in the vicinity of Captain Cook’s

birthplace, further work was needed to provide further information about the site, to assist with interpretation. This included a geophysical survey to locate the remains and layout of Bolckow’s lost flower garden. There was also a watching brief for works in the stable yard area, where remains of Bolckow’s gas works was known to have been located.

Other Surveys and Studies• Only key areas of the park were surveyed at CMP stage. A full topographical survey of the

park was carried out at Stage 2 to provide a comprehensive base from which the detailed proposals could be developed.

• A detailed tree survey was prepared for the whole park, especially important for the arbore-tum area, in order to inform detailed management proposals and a tree works strategy

• Soil analysis was undertaken to determine fertility, pH in order to recommend soil ameliora-tion and inform detailed planting proposals

• A drainage survey was carried out to identify field drains, drainage problems etc.• Silt surveys and water quality analysis of the lakes and watercourses proved especially im-

portant, to inform hydrological proposals. This revealed problems with contaminated silts, which were remediated using a specialist ‘e-clays’ treatment system.

• Specialist bat surveys of the buildings and trees, including active season dawn/dusk emer-gence surveys.

• Detailed survey of existing boundary estate railings and walls and the existing gate piers on Ladgate Lane

• Core drilling of existing hard surfacing to ascertain construction in order to refine proposals and ensure loading requirements could be met

Information needed to inform the Stage Two bid for the park, in particular the Vocational Training Bases and Visitor/Volunteers Centre in the animal houses and mess rooms

• Update user survey information• Prepare a marketing strategy• Prepare an educational strategy• Develop the audience development plan• Develop a Business Plan for the Visitor Centre/Training Base• Develop an Interpretation and Signage Strategy• Develop an Access Strategy• Develop a Training Plan• Develop a Volunteer Strategy• Develop the 10-year Management and Maintenance Plan

that trees needed to be removed. This was followed-up by a se-ries of tree walks and horse-logging demon-strations to educate visitors about tree management practices.

We were delighted that no complaints were received at all during the works re-garding the removal and thinning of trees, which we believe was largely as a result of this ongoing commu-nication with local res-idents and park users.

7

Project DeliveryAdvanced works - tree thinning and relocation of the animal pens

There are striking tree clumps in the park, a remnant of the historic parkland associated with Marton Hall. Over the years some of these tree clumps had disappeared, but younger trees had been planted in their place. These young-er plantations were becoming very dense and views to the lower lake were becoming particularly obstructed. This photograph shows the lower lake, shrouded in trees to the right of the view, before restoration works began.

A separate contract (£174k) was also carried out to relocate pets corner to allow the relocation of the animals to a qui-eter area of the park with more open space and easier access for management. The photo above (left) shows the main entrance to the park before works began. The main footpath from the public car park ran throught the middle of the animal pens, with views across the parkland interrupted by weldmesh fencing. The photo above (right) shows the same view after the pens on the right were removed, The main entrance approach still allows visitors the opportunity to see the animals, but views across the parkland can be enjoyed. This has also helped improve the health of the parkland trees in this area, whose root structures had been undermined by burrowing rabbits and browsing goats in the animal pens!

An advanced tree works contract (£40k) was procured as a direct or-der by Middlesbrough Council, to allow tree works to be carried out at the right time of year. This prepared areas for future works and ensured that dangerous trees were removed before major construction works began. It also allowed for some strategic tree removals, which made the programming of works in the subsequent contracts more straightforward.

The photograph above shows how effective the tree thinning works were at restoring lost views to the lower lake. Around 50% of the trees were removed to make space for the strongest specimens to grow. It is hoped that over time these thinned-out plantations will develop the same ‘clump’ character as the historic plantations, replaceing these mature tree groups as they decline and ensuring a continuity of tree cover in the park.

Above: The historic tree plantation is revealed once the old animal pens are removedLeft: Winston the llama and his new lady friends (purchased by the Friends of Stewart Park) enjoying their new enclosure

Before

Before After

After

DuringDuring

During

8 9

Lower Lake

8 9

Reduced lake (before works)

New circular footpath

Historic lake edge

Wetland habitat area

Removal of the vertical walls around the lake has allowed the safety fencing to be re-moved, restoring a more open, informal char-acter and helping to create a greener edge.

Reclaimed stone from the old vertical walls was used to build the new raked stone edge along the eastern shore. Damage by water-fowl was expected to be greatest in this area.

The lower lake had shrunk in size over its history. This was partly due to a previous de-silting exercise, where silts removed from the lake had been used to infill the southern section. At the same time hard, vertical edges were introduced. This subsequently caused safety concerns, which resulted in the whole lake being fenced off. The lake was therefore inaccessible to park users and had become overgrown and neglected in ap-pearance. The open and informal character of the lake, as evidenced in historic photographs, had been lost and the team was keen to restore this.

The hard edges around the lake were also causing drainage problems. Water that naturally runs off the sloping parkland around the lake was gathering behind the walls, causing ero-sion. This was being accelerated by dabbling waterfowl. The walls were removed and the stone that was extracted was separated and stored for re-use in the raked stone edge that was introduced along the eastern shore. This allowed the lake edges to be re-sculpted, returning the lake to its historic shape. A dam was installed to allow these works to take place, the southern section being completed first and the northern section following on. New land drainage now leads into the lake, helping alleviate the waterlogging problems that were developing in land around the lake. A new circular foot-path connects the new and restored features, which is now a popular walking route and allows access to the lake edge.

The new lakeside footpath has restored a lost landscape feature and has improved access to the lake, providing part of a circular route.

During

Before

Before

Before

After

After After

After

10 11

Upper Ponds

10 11

Surface run-off from nearby roads had contaminated the water sup-ply that feeds the upper ponds and silts in the bottom of the lake were particularly contaminated. The upper lakes were drained and the silts treated using an ‘e-clays’ system, whereby bentonite was mixed with the silt, neutralising the contaminants whilst creating a workable structural material that could be used for landscaping works in the park. This meant that less material had to be taken off-site to landfill and provided a source of structural material that was used to create landscaped bunds as part of a SUDs system in the park.

Steel bridge and Victorian rockwork, before works

The ponds had been infilled and reduced in side. To restore the lakes to their original size and shape, the footpath was re-routed behind the trees to the left.

Unsightly timber trip rails around the ponds provided safety from the steep, vertical edges. Regrading and introducing raked edges allowed fences to be removed.

Contaminated silts had turned the water a sludgy blueish-green in colour. De-silting has helped improve water quality and allowed plants to thrive.

One of two new timber bridges after works

The original bridge at the upper ponds

Before

Before Before Before

After After After

12 13

Marton Crossroads Entrance

12 13

A tantalising glimpse of how the Marton Crossroads entrance looked on the day the park was opened in 1928. This photograph pro-vided a vital piece of detail for the gates - on the far left a cast iron decoration can be seen, and a gentle curve to teh top of the gate. The photo also gave a good indication of the scale of the original gates, which were much taller than their modern replacements.

This grainy photograph shows the magnificent gas lamps that once adorned the top of the piers. The former entrance lodge (de-molished in the 1980s) can be seen to the left. This photogrpah provided a clue to the proportions of the original gates, includ-ing the dog bars along the bottom and the direction of opening.

At the start of the project the entrance was in a poor state of repair. The sand-stone piers had begun to delaminate, shedding layeres of stone, and the origi-nal gates had been replaced with bow top fencing and gates of a very munici-pal character. Raised beds built against the brick wing walls were causing damp and subsidence. In order to deter cars from accessing this pedestrian entrance, unsightly sections of highway barrier had been positioned across the entrance.

Detailed designs were prepared for the restoration of the entrance. The sandstone piers had degraded too far to be repaired, so the decision was made to replace all the piers. This work was carried out by Classic Masonry, a specialist stonemasonry sub-contractor, who measured and matched the exact dimension of the original piers and recreated them in a locally sourced sandstone. The gate designs were developed in consultation with John Aynsley Metalworkers, whose pattern books proved an invaluable reference source for developing new gate details that would capture the spirit of the original design. As there were few historic photos to work from, patterns for railings and finials were developed from contemporary Victorian designs. This approach also helped achieve the cor-rect proportions for the gates too. The former gas lamps were the subject of much debate. As the crossroads is now a busy junc-tion with adequate highway lighting there was no practical need for more lighting. Reinstating the lanterns without illumination would have been folly, and there were concerns about creating a target for vandals, but it was agreed there was a need to recreate something of the spirit of the original design. Ornamental finials based on a design used at a nearby Victorian cemetery were cho-sen, as a reference to the former grandeur, but a clear departure from the elaborate lanterns that previously surmounted the piers.

The image to the left shows works in progress. The restoration included re-moval of old bitmac and highway kerbs and installation of new sandstone flag paving. The raised flower beds were re-moved in favour of ground level plant-ing beds, which received dense her-baceous planting. The deteriorating brick walls were repaired and repoint-ed and new curved sandstone copings installed to receive the new railings. The image below shows the completed en-trance with the granite plaque marking the opening of the park re-set into a new pier.

Before

During

After

14

The Henry Bolckow Centre

15

Centre Lodge was concealed behind a large agricultural shed, used for storage as part of a Council depot here

The shed removed, the space has now been converted to an ‘events terrace’ for outdoor events. And the holly survived!

This delapidated building was used as a rangers base. The ground was contaminated from underground fuel tanks.

The ground has beenremediated and the building converted into a new cafe, with a new visitor centre extension (left).

This area was closed to the public, accessible only to Council staff and maintenance crews.

The are is now open to the public, providing a whole new re-source for park staff, rangers, volunteers and visitors.

Following the removal of the agricultural shed, the area was opened up to create a fantastic new events space between the listed stable yard buildings, allowing the whole complex to be reunited. The new visitor centre (top) was designed by Napper Architects.

The restoration of the Victorian stable yard and its complex of Grade II listed build-ings has created a whole new part of the park that is now used and enjoyed by a wide cross-section of the local community. The area was previously used as a Coun-cil depot, but this meant that many park users did not know this part of the park existed.

A large agricultural barn was removed to reveal the stable yard buildings, and the area be-tween was converted into a new outdoor events space. New terracing was introduced, along with new street furniture, cycle parking and a ‘heritage terrace’ to display salvaged stone carvings that were previously stored in the depot. This space now accommodates a week-end farmers market and is the venue for outdoor theatre events and the annual Spring Fair.

The new visitors centre, designed by Napper Architects, introduced a new structure within this complex of historic buildings. The design, whilst being striking-ly modern, took its shape from the end gable of the adjacent building, which in-spired its asymmetric roofline. The building includes an exhibition space, which is used weekly by a local gardening club, arts group and ceramics group.

After

After

After

After

After

Before

Before

Before

16

VTC and Walled Garden

17

The old walled garden was overgrown and mostly inaccessible due to self-sown trees

The area has been cleared to make space for the walled garden, works to replant are ongoing

The walled garden now has raised planters which will be used to grow food for use in the new cafe

The building is now a vocational training centre and cafe - the next phase will be involving trainees to lay the terrace

The area to the north of the stable yard complex has been developed by Middlesbrough Council as an accessible garden area, complette with winding footpaths, pergola and lush planting. Work was carried out by trainees and people with special educational needs.

One of the key innovative aspects of this project was the creation of a Vocational Training Centre (VTC) in one of the estate buildings, using the former walled gardens and existing glasshouses. Middlesbrough Council Social Care trainees cleared the overgrown and neglected former walled garden area to enable redevelopment. They also helped construct new pathways, flower beds, raised planters and gar-den seats. This work was funded by the government’s ‘Healthy Towns’ initia-tive and the trainees continue to plant the gardens and maintain them, growing and harvesting produce for sale to the public. The gardens are also open to the pub-lic and accessible café. The facility provides land-based educational and train-ing opportunities for adults with learning difficulties, adults recovering from mental health difficulties and land based vocational skills for 16-19 year olds.

Askham Bryan College and Middlesbrough College both have links with the park, which now provides a training base for animal care and horticulture students. The Friends of Stewart Park use the new volunteer base as an office and store room and the Sunday craft market, which takes place in the courtyard, is now booked up with stallholders until 2014.

After

Before

After

After

After

18

Captain Cook Orientation Space

19

Before works began (above) this was a bleak space, the stableyard buildings hidden by a large barn. After works (below) the buildings have been revealed and this area acts as an orientation space and arrival point

The park entrance (above) was unwelcoming, funneling visitors between high fences. Relocating the animal pens made a space for a Captain Cook themed play area under the trees (below) and brighter entrance space

History: The cottage in Old Marton Village where Captain James Cook FRSN was born, now within the park boundaries. Some visitors are not aware of this historic link.

Work in Progress: The world map needed to be carefully set out - stone markers point to Captain Cook’s place of birth and his place of death

The orientation space is now an important feature in the park. Previously this was an unwelcoming space com-prising a large area of bitmac that housed a steel shed for hire of mobility vehicles. It was anticipated that this would become a key junction in the park once the sta-ble yard buildings were converted, becuase of its loca-tion between a number of important visitor attractions.

The orientation space was one of the features of Middlesbrough Council’s own Stage 1 masterplan for the park, and performs a number of functions:

• an educational space to inform visitors about the voyages of Captain Cook and his link with the park and nearby Marton village - the area was laid out in resin-bound gravel depicting Cook’s three voyages in different coloured ribbons

• a ‘break-out’ space at the edge of the new play area, where parents can sit to supervise children, or where children can safely ride bikes and scooters

• a safe gathering space, which is fenced to avoid chil-dren running out across the nearby park road, which connects to the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum

• an orientation space, with signage that guides peo-ple to nearby facilities such as park toilets, visitors centre, care, play area, animal pens and events space

• a welcoming arrival point for visitors arriving from the main public car park, located just beyond the animal pens

• a meeting place, providing a focal feature synony-mous with the park and a visitor attraction in itself

Before Before

After

During

After

20

Temple & Loggia

The temple and loggia are both Grade II listed structures located in the park. The loggia (above) is the only remaining section of Marton Hall, the rest of which burned down in a fire in the 1960s. The stone required repair work and graffiti removal, whilst the roof structure had been repaired using metal bars that were rusting and forcing the stone apart. Repairs were carried out to remedy this, as well as restoration of the tiled floor and application of an anti-graffiti coating.

The doric temple is a garden feature, a remnant of the ornamental gardens that once surrounded Marton Hall. A long, straight walk connects the temple and loggia. This was overgrown with trees and shrubs and had become very dark. The temple was becoming badly damaged with graffiti and anti-social behaviour in this area meant fewer people used this part of the park. Extensive stone and floor repairs were carried out to the temple, as well as a reinstatement of a timber coffered ceiling that had been burnt out. This work was detailed by Napper conservation archi-tects. Southern Green developed designs for the reinstatement of a ‘temple walk’, with ornamental shrub beds and turf edges reintroduced. Middlesbrough Council horticulture team designed and planted the octagonal bed in front of the temple.

DuringDuring

Before

Before

After

After

After

21Flower Garden & Vase

Loggia (Grade II)

Vase (Grade II)

Temple (Grade II)

Flower Garden

A large granite vase (Grade II Listed) marks the spot where Captain Cook’s birthplace cottage stood. This was restored as part of the works, re-gilding the inscription and install-ing a new sandstone base bearing an inscription of Captain Cook’s words “I had the ambition to not only go farther than man had gone before, but to go as far as it was possible to go”

Geophysics surveys revealed the location and shape of Bol-ckow’s lost flower garden, a feature that was visible on historic maps but of which no trace remained on the ground. This survey revealed the lay-out of the footpaths and flower beds and enabled us to recre-ate a new rose garden in this location. An ironmongery company created new rose ob-elisks to provide height and in-terst and the area was planted with a collection of traditional roses, contemporary with the Victorian layout of the grounds.

During

After

Before

After

Footpath improvements have been made in conjunction with these drainage works. This includes a new footpath along the top of the bund which extends the footpath network where previously the ground was too wet to walk. This additional footpath has also created an accessible, circular route around the park which is used by local running clubs and for the ‘parkruns’ series. Together with car park improvements and the introduction of new benches and wheelchair bays, these footpath improvements have also made the park more accessible to a wider range of users.

Small changes to improve access have been able to make a big difference to the way users access the park from the wider area and many of these potential improvements were identified in the Access Plan, which was prepared as part of the CMP. This included improving key pedestrian access points, for example restoration of historic entrances to make the park more inviting but also widening narrow access gates to allow for wheelchairs and buggies. Introducing a new footpath link and gate to the nearby bus stop on Ladgate Lane has helped create a safer and more direct access from public transport. The introduction of designated coach bays into the car park now caters for visits by school groups and other parties, whilst additional accessible and motorcycle parking bays have been introduced. New cycle parking and the easing of an old bye-law prohibiting cycling in the park has made the park more user friendly to cyclists. Better park signage and interpretation has made the park easier to navigate, with key features now signed with fingerposts and maps and noticeboards at key points around the park. Meanwhile, new automated barriers have helped to reduce the number of illicit vehicles entering the park.

Access & Sustainability Flooding issues were a major concern. The park is situated on a natural watercourse, which feeds the series of ornamental ponds before returning to a culvert and heading north across the parkland. During periods of heavy rain the culvert was struggling to cope with the amount of water running through the park, which caused serious flooding problems. Water run-ning across Ladgate Lane, the major road to the north of the park, frequently created disruption and traffic problems. As part of the project additional land drainage was installed, im-provements were made to the culvert and a large SUDs pond was created. This was formed by introducing a bunded footpath parallel with the northern boudnary of the park. This holds the water back and prevents it flooding onto Ladgate Lane, allow-ing the water the drain away gradually through the new park drainage. Through this project the opportunity was taken to resolve issues beyond the park boundaries. Middlesbrough Council is now working with the Environment Agency to de-velop proposals for a reed bed system upstream of the upper ponds. It is hoped that this will improve the quality of water coming into the park and prevent future contamination issues.

23

Play BuilderAn additional play area contract (£0.3m) was procured directly by Middlesbrough Council and funded through the Play Builder scheme. The additional funding ena-bled the creation of a Captain Cook themed play area, complete with its very own ‘Endeavour’ ship. This play area had always been anticipated as part of the over-all masterplan for the park and ongoing liaison be-tween the design team and the planners meant these additional works slotted seamlessly in to the wider HLF project without causing any disruption or delay.

The play area has proved extremely popular, so much so that an extension is now being considered. The area continues to developed through timber sculpture work currently being carried out by Steve Iredale and David Gross. These two sculptors are working togeth-er to realise designs developed by Middlesbough Col-lege students as part of a project inspired by the park and its heritage. The first of these sculptures has re-cently been installed - Easter Island totem figures, in-spired by Cook’s voyages. All the sculptures being installed are made from timber recalimed from tree works in the park - cedar and oak has provided par-ticularly good material for the artists to work with.

24

southerngreenc h a r t e r e d l a n d s c a p e a r c h i t e c t s

Premier Trees

John Grundy

Southern Green Ltd221 Durham RoadLow FellGatesheadNE9 5AB

www.southerngreen.co.ukstudio@southerngreen.co.uk