Sale Old Hall’s dovecote in Walkden Gardens.
Wikimedia Commons
Walkden Gardens is a public green space in Sale, Greater Manchester, named after Harry Walkden, who owned and ran a plant nursery, Moorside Nurseries, on the five-acre (2 ha) site.[1] On his death in 1949 he bequeathed the land to Sale Borough Council, requesting that the land be used for the public good; “preferably laid out as a park, pleasure ground or botanical gardens.”[2]
Today the gardens are owned by Trafford Council, and The Friends of Walkden Gardens help to maintain and develop them.[1] The design was inspired by the garden at Hidcote Manor in Gloucestershire, with long vistas, a series of smaller garden “rooms”, and the Theatre Lawn – an enclosed space that can seat up to 500 people.[2]
A notable feature is the Grade II listedStructure of particular architectural and/or historic interest deserving of special protection. dovecote, removed from the grounds of the now demolished Sale Old Hall in 2003 on the widening of the M60 motorway, and reconstructed in the gardens the following year.[2]