- Restoring Thomas Mawson's design for Kearsney Court and picturesque landscape features in Kearsney Abbey
- Recreating Kearsney Abbey’s historic role as a cultural venue, attracting new audiences to the parks
- Celebrating the parks’ unique heritage including mills, ecology, people and landscapes through new activities and interpretation
- Creating a multi-use extension to the grade II listed billiards room in Kearsney Abbey to facilitate new education, training and volunteering programmes
A key feature of the plans include restoration of the formal gardens at Kearsney Court (now known as Russell Gardens), designed by Thomas Mawson in c.1901. Designed in the Arts and Crafts style, Russell Gardens features a series of terraces cascading down the hillside and culminating in the magnificent canal in the valley bottom, with ornamental bridges and a boathouse set among mature trees. Russell Gardens is Grade II listed and has been a public park since 1951.
Thomas Mawson (1861-1933) is widely regarded as the first of the great landscape architects. His career took him from garden design to worldwide acclaim as an urban designer. He became the first President of the Institute of Landscape Architects in 1929. Russell Gardens is a rare example of his work in the south of England.
Like Russell Gardens, Kearsney Abbey was also once a grand country estate and has been a public park since 1945. Built from 1820-1822, the Grade II listed billiards room is all that remains of the former Gothic revival manor house. As part of the project, an extension to the building will facilitate new education, training and volunteering programmes designed to increase awareness and understanding of the heritage and ecology of the parks.
The picturesque landscape of Kearsney Abbey includes sweeping lawns, avenues, lakes, islands, fountains and trees designed to enhance the natural beauty of the location with controlled views.
Both parks share strong links with Dover’s industrial heritage. The River Dour, an ecologically rare chalk stream, runs through both the parks and powered a number of flour and paper mills. The remains of River Paper Mill can still be seen in the grounds of Kearsney Abbey. It was Dover’s wealthy industrialists and businessmen who developed the country estates that were the forerunners of today’s public parks.
The project will also recreate the parks’ role as a cultural venue by restoring the open air theatre which was a feature of Kearsney Abbey during the 1951 Festival of Britain.
Cllr Paul Watkins, Leader of Dover District Council said: "This is the culmination of 18 months hard work by the Council and the many community groups and volunteers who supported our proposals. The Kearsney Parks are at the heart of the community as a place for people to meet, learn, play and relax.
"As Love Parks Week gets underway it’s fitting that the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund have agreed to back this exciting project to restore the district’s most popular parks. There will be lots of opportunities for people to get involved with the project and we look forward to welcoming even more people to Russell Gardens and Kearsney Abbey."
The funding for the Dover’s heritage parks comes as part of an announcement of £30.7million for 16 parks across the UK.
HLF’s Chair Sir Peter Luff, said, on behalf of HLF and Big Lottery Fund: "It’s clear that our parks are important to us in countless ways - from physical and mental wellbeing to a connection with nature and our heritage. It’s also clear however that public parks must work in new ways to respond to the funding challenges they face and this investment, thanks to National Lottery players, will help them to do this.
"We’re delighted to announce this funding today, especially in time for the tenth Love Parks Week, and look forward to a bright future for these popular green spaces in Dover."
