*** FOSG have launched a fundraising campaign for recreating The Tasting Garden artwork. We are using the Spacehive fundraising platform. For more information about the campaign and to donate please click here. ***
*** The Heritage Open Days are over for 2023. The Creativity Trail, however, is still available online by clicking here or selecting Gardens of Surprises from the main menu. ***
Website updated 21 September 2023. Click here for more information.
The Storey Gardens are a hidden oasis of peace and tranquillity in the centre of Lancaster. Admission is free and access is through The Storey building or from the entrance in Castle Park opposite the castle.
The Friends of the Storey Gardens, formed in 2013, are working with Lancaster City council to restore the historic Storey Gardens. The gardens were reopened to the public on the 26th March 2018 following completion of work to secure and improve access, made possible by a grant from the Lancashire Environmental Fund. Further funding is required to restore “The Tasting Garden”, created in 1998 by Mark Dion, an internationally renowned environmental artist.
The Storey Gardens are attached to The Storey building, which was bequeathed to the city by Victorian philanthropist, Thomas Storey, to promote science, art and education. As you approach the gardens from The Storey you are faced with Georgian brick walls. This section of the gardens (the Copper Beech garden) is formed on two levels with an impressive copper beech forming the centre piece of the space. A flight of Georgian steps leading down to Meeting House Lane have, in the past, been used to site temporary art installations, to be viewed by the many pedestrians passing between the railway station and town. The gardens are surrounded by trees creating a tranquil space in an urban setting.
The western section holds an internationally significant artwork, The Tasting Garden, created by American artist, Mark Dion. It is an orchard, an artwork and a garden. The Tasting Garden contains old varieties of fruit trees, paths laid out in the form of branches of a tree and a small folly containing traditional gardening equipment. It is surrounded by wonderful herbaceous borders on all sides. Another set of Georgian steps in this section of the gardens forms an alternative entrance from Meeting House Lane. Please note that this entrance is only open on special occasions.
Since formation, the Friends have been working to restore and enhance the gardens. An important part of our work is maintaining the gardens to make a haven for wildlife. We aim to raise awareness of the location and history of the gardens.
Please look around this website to read more about the artwork, the garden and its history. If there is anything you can do to support our work, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
You can also take a virtual tour of the gardens thanks to our friend Chris Wright who made a video in 2020. Click here to read more.