Post by Dave on Jul 4, 2018 17:33:35 GMT
Princess Gardens Fountain 4th July 2018
It has been seven months since the Princess Gardens Fountain was taken down and taken away to be not only restored to its former glory, but to make its base level once again. The fountain is Grade II Listed and very important as there are only three like it in the UK.
In 1892, the local authority implemented proposals for a public garden, using some 200,000 tons of spoil to reclaim the ground east of the pier and south of Cumper's Hotel. The gardens, known as Princess Gardens, were laid out to the design of Major Garrett, the Borough Engineer and Surveyor, and were opened on 1 June 1894; the Princess Gardens were the first public gardens in Torquay laid out by the municipal authority.
The final phase of the improvement scheme involved the construction of a series of terraced walks along the face of Waldon Cliff above the improved Torbay Road. Known as the Royal Terrace Gardens, these walks were designed by Major Garrett and planted with a collection of exotic plants and palms donated by Dr Robert Hamilton Ramsay (1824-1907) of Duncan House, Torquay.
I did not think I would be going out when I got up as it was raining, but by lunch time it had stopped. I much prefer to do shoots when the sky is blue, but that was not going to be the case today.
I once again decided to leave my car in the garage and catch a bus over to Torquay; it makes good sense to buy a day rider ticket as it saves the hassle of parking etc and at £5 is very good value.
My main reason for going to Torquay was just to see the restored fountain, but I knew I would end up taking loads of photographs. As I walked around I wondered if our visitors had finally got fed up with the expensive parking charges in the Bay, or maybe they just looked at Torbay as a very run down place, not worth visiting anymore. I say that only as I was shocked at the lack of people walking around our seafront.
I love the Bay and some parts still look very good, but that is not the case for the whole Bay sadly. I walked up to the viewing platform on Wreck Walk, sorry Rock Walk and then along the upper pathway intending to walk through to Abby Lawn. Only problem was as I got to the end of the path that leads onto Braddons Hill the path was closed off and I had to walk all the way back the way I had come. But on that walk both up and back I did not see one other person up there, just more proof how empty the Bay was today.
The beautiful water feature just inside Abby Gardens was empty and looking rather sad, why is it in this state in July?? Such features as this need to looking their best during the holiday season.
I did not take and pictures of the Pavilion building or Cary Gardens, it saddens me so much to see the state our council has let them get in, but do they care? No they are happy to see Cary Green turned into a car park for a hotel and a tower block of flats that is not wanted here. Torwood street just yards away is now going to be getting a new 130 bedroom hotel and more neglected old buildings are going to be pulled down and replaced with another modern disaster. But maybe that might just help us save the Pavilion and Cary Green.
As I walked around I wondered if our wonderful Bay was open for business as a tourist destination, does our council not really understand it is the life blood of the Bay? Lets get Oldway repaired and open again, let us find a good use for the Pavilion building and get Carry Gardens back to its best. If not just turn the whole place into a run down seaside resort and destroy everything that people always came here for.
A final note on the fountain, it cost £157,500 to restore, a hefty sum, a weather station was also installed to monitor the wind direction and control the fountain water flow, this is meant to protect the surrounding flowers and grass area from waterlogging.
The fountain looks wonderful, but someone needs to turn up the water pressure a bit as today at least, very little water was flowing out of it.
