Where is Walsall Arboretum?
Walsall Arboretum is on Broadway North, Walsall, WS1 2QB.
In brief
A Victorian public park that opened in Walsall in 1874. It is Grade II listed by Historic England, and has been free to the public since the Council took it over in 1884.
Hatherton Lake at Walsall Arboretum (June 2021). Photography by Elliott Brown
Walsall Arboretum - history
The Arboretum was built on the site of Reynolds Hall, which was the home of the Persehouse family from the 16th century. By the 18th century the estate had been inherited by the Littleton family, who developed lime quarries in Walsall. By the 1840s, one of the quarries had been flooded, and was used by local people for bathing and skiing. The then Mayor of Walsall during 1844 drowned in the lake, by then known as Hatherton Lake. By the 1850s, the quarries was being surrounded by villas and Queen Mary's Grammar School.
The Walsall Arboretum and Lake Company was formed in 1870, and plans started to turn the estate into a park. Plans included the building of two lodges, a boat house and bandstand by the county surveyor Robert Griffiths. The Arboretum was laid out from 1872 and opened to paying customers by 1874. In the following decade the Arboretum Company ran into financial difficulties, and it was sold to the Town Council, who opened it up as a free public park in 1884.
There was a major refurbishment programme in the park from 2010 until 2015, this included restoring the buildings, the lakes etc, and building a new Visitor Centre.
A bronze bust of Jerome K. Jerome, an author born in Walsall was unveiled in 2016, while a bronze statue of a horse was relocated to the park in 2017.
Walsall Arboretum (June 2021). Photography by Elliott Brown
The park is surrounded by Lichfield Street and Broadway North.
The Arboretum Lodge
This is the main entrance to the park at the corner of Lichfield Street and Broadway North. Built in 1872, it was originally the subscription paid for entrance to the park, but has been free to enter here since the local Council bought the park in 1884. It is now near the busy traffic junction on the Walsall ring road. It has a distinctive clock tower.
The Arboretum Lodge at Walsall Arboretum (June 2021). Photography by Elliott Brown
Hatherton Lake
Originally a quarry pit, it was later flooded, and by the middle of the 19th century it was a lake used for bathing and skiing. There is a boat house on one side (built 1874) and a Bandstand (built 1924) on the other side.
Hatherton Lake at Walsall Arboretum (June 2021). Photography by Elliott Brown
Boat House
The Boat House is the only Grade II listed building in the park, dating to 1874. Probably designed by the county surveyor Robert Griffiths. It is a timber-framed building with hipped tiled roofs and a raised lantern. It has cast-iron columns and a concrete base supports above the water level. It is on Hatherton Lake.
Boat House on Hatherton Lake at Walsall Arboretum (June 2021). Photography by Elliott Brown
Bandstand
The present bandstand was erected in 1924, replacing a previous structure on the same site that was built in 1873, which was of the conventional octagonal form. It is near Hatherton Lake.
The Bandstand at Walsall Arboretum (June 2021). Photography by Elliott Brown
The Leckie Building
This building was built from 1902, and opened in 1904 as the Pavillion Refreshment Room. It was designed by H. E. Lavender, and was the focal point of the park. It closed down in 1931, but reopened in 1936 as the Joseph Leckie Sons of Rest Social Club for older adults which it remains to this day.
The Leckie Building at Walsall Arboretum (June 2021). Photography by Elliott Brown
Ladies Bowl Pavillion
This was originally a refreshment pavillion built in 1934. It was called the Richard B Sutton shelter. It was built of Cotswold Stone under a tiled hipped roof, with a locally supported by circular section rustic stone columns. In 2003 it became the club house for the Ladies Bowls Club.
Ladies Bowls Pavillion at Walsall Arboretum (June 2021). Photography by Elliott Brown
Visitor Centre
The Visitor Centre was opened in November 2015. The opening of the visitor centre was the culmination of the arboretum restoration programme, delivered 2010 - 2015. Within the new building is retained a former agricultural building that pre dates the park. The new centre was wrapped around this key historic feature.
The Visitor Centre at Walsall Arboretum (June 2021). Photography by Elliott Brown
Public art at Walsall Arboretum
At least two public works of art have been installed at Walsall Arboretum since the restoration works of the 2010s was complete. This includes a bronze bust of the author Jerome K. Jerome (near the Arboretum Lodge) and Fluffy the Oss (a bronze horse statue) near the Visitor Centre.
Bronze bust of Jerome K. Jerome
The Walsall born author of Three Men in a Boat, Jerome K. Jerome (1859 - 1927) was honoured with a bronze bust, close to The Arboretum Lodge. It was sculpted by local artist Phil Kelly, and was unveiled in June 2016. Jerome was a Freeman of the Borough of Walsall, and the Jerome K. Jerome Society lobbied for a sculpture to be made to recognise him, in the town of his birth.
Bronze bust of Jerome K. Jerome at Walsall Arboretum (June 2021). Photography by Elliott Brown
Bronze horse statue of Fluffy the Oss
This statue of a bronze horse was originally commissioned by Walsall Council in the 1990s, and used to be outside of the Civic Centre. But due to vandalism, it was removed to storage. Years later it was restored to the condition it is in now, and installed in the Industrial Garden near the Visitor Centre at the Arboretum in 2017. It was originally sculpted by Marjan Wouda. The garden celebrates Walsall's industrial heritage and is situated by the site of the old limestone workings.
Bronze horse statue of Fluffy the Oss at Walsall Arboretum (June 2021). Photography by Elliott Brown
Summer at Walsall Arboretum
The poppy field is quite a sight to see at Walsall Arboretum each summer. It is close to Broadway North and Arboretum Road, and not far from the bandstand.
Poppy field at Walsall Arboretum (June 2021). Photography by Elliott Brown
Transport
Trains to Walsall Station, or buses to Walsall St Paul's Bus Station. It is a 10 to 15 minute walk to the Arboretum Lodge. For cars there is Broadway Car Park off Broadway North.