Ashton Gardens, a park in St Annes, opened in 1916 on land that still shows traces of its original sand dunes. It was first created in 1874-75 as St George’s Gardens by landscape gardener E. Thomas for a local development company. In 1896, the gardens were offered to the council for £12,000, but they declined. Later, O.J. Porritt took over the lease and in 1912 proposed building on the site. This sparked interest from the council, but the cost seemed too high. Just in time, Lord Ashton donated over £25,000, allowing the council to buy the land and improve it. A local designer, F. Harrison, won a contest to plan the new layout, and work began soon after, even as World War I started.
The park, now about 5 hectares, is bordered by Beach Road to the north, St George’s Road to the south, Clifton Drive West to the west, and homes backing onto St Andrews Road North to the east.
There are two main entrances. The south entrance on St George’s Road has a forecourt with a flower bed in the center, framed by two lodges and an iron gate. This entrance aligns with Garden Street, offering a view from St Annes Road West, one of the main roads in town. The west entrance on Clifton Drive North has stone gate posts and decorative gates that open up to a view of the park’s war memorial, listed as Grade II. This area used to be a timber yard until it was added to the park when the council bought the land. Smaller entrances from Beach Road and St George’s Square have stone gate posts as well.
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Text source: Historic England’swebsite
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