Gardeners and the democratisation of urban parks

The creation of municipal parks was the most significant development in gardening in the nineteeth century. More than 2,000 parks were made between 1840 and 1914, all financed from the public purse. This paper will explore the genesis of the parks’ movement from the community of gardeners, assisted by an underswell of support from the working-class population. It will show how the radical policies of the main progenitors, John Claudius Loudon and Joseph Paxton, helped to ensure that public parks were of the same high quality as the landed estates of the elite and that they provided not only the health benefits which were essential in overcrowded urban areas, but also suitable recreational facilities. A cadre of gardeners, led by Paxton and the Chatsworth School, with the requisite landscaping and engineering skills acquired whilst working on landed estates, designed and built the first municipal parks. The parks which they created fulfilled their ideals of benefiting the working classes by being universally free of access and providing amenities tailored to their needs, including sporting facilities which formed the crucible for the nascent Football Association. The parks were of particular benefit in providing safe spaces for women and children, and venues for gatherings such as shows, fetes, children’s events, and political meetings. Head gardeners with the necessary horticultural and management competency were appointed to maintain and supervise the parks once built. Gardeners succeeded in capturing control of the parks’ movement creating for themselves more employment opportunities, with greater responsibilities and enhanced job security. In doing so they freed themselves from the remnants of servility, becoming the masters.