The Leasowes appeal for more funding to complete restoration

• Mar. 16 by Rachel Trinder (1)

The Leasowes need more funding to complete the landscape’s restoration wok, not long after completing ‘Phase 1′ of the plan to bring the land back to it’s former glory.

Leasowes are waiting to secure more funding from organisations like the Natural England’s Higher Level Stewardship and the Heritage Lottery Fund for the further restoration of the landscapes cascades and dams.

In the mean time they are concentrating on other issues like the conservation of the habitat.

Antony Ravenscroft, who works at The Leasowes, said:

‘At the moment we’re concentrating on managing the landscape and restoring the habitat.

The engineering side of the restoration has been done but we need funding to continue the restoration back to how it originally was.

Much of the habitat restoration being done is with the wildlife that can be found here in mind’

What has been restored so far

‘Phase 1’ of The Leasowes Restoration plans have seen the area known as ‘Virgil’s Grove’ restored back to how it used to look when the area was originally landscaped.

The restoration work in this area has seen the cascades rebuilt, seating replaced, the park’s pools and  streams de-silted and part of the park’s historic circular route reinstated.

Antony added:

‘It’s taken quite a while for us to get funding to complete phase 1 of the restoration and we really hope we can get more.

Complete restoration depends on how much funding we get and how much we ask for comes down to the extent of what’s left to restore.

So far, restoration that still needs doing concern the dams, other cascades found in the streams, water features and the many historic pathways’

Why the restoration work is being done

The aim of the restoration work is to transform the area known as The Leasowes back to how it originally looked when local poet William Shenstone first designed it in 1743.

Shenstone owned the property, now a Grade 1 Listed building, that can be found at The Leasowes and took to ‘landscape gardening’ on a huge scale.

Shenstone worked with the natural landscape to create cascades and pools, construct temples, ruins and seats to make the landscape ornate and plant trees and shrubs to enhance the view of the landscape and surrounding countryside.

The temples and ruins no longer remain but the continued work will see the cascades, water features, pools, and pathways brought back to life and most of Shenstone’s dream ‘garden’ restored.

More information about The Leasowes can be found on the Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council website.