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• Managing Organisation:

  Newark & Sherwood District Council

• Contact:

  Philip Beard

• Telephone:

  01636 655 714 
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Information about this open space

The Castle Gardens are small (1ha) formal gardens that are bordered by the remaining walls of Newark Castle (the Castle having been partly destroyed in 1646 at the end of the English Civil War). The Gardens, which are Grade II listed by English Heritage, were designed by the eminent Victorian landscape architect H E Milner in commemoration of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee and opened in 1889.  A 1997 Heritage Lottery Fund grant, together with funding from the District Council and other partners, allowed for an £800,000 improvement scheme to be carried out between 1998 and 2000. Paths were resurfaced, thousands of trees and shrubs planted, access to the Castle’s walls and dungeons improved and a new bandstand added.  The gardens, as well as being a quiet area for rest and relaxation, are also used for events (including a popular series of Sunday brass band concerts in the Summer) and regular guided tours of the Castle and Gardens are conducted by the Castle and Parks Ranger. The gardens also contain the Gilstrap Heritage Centre, which houses historic and cultural exhibitions, as well as public toilets and the Newark Tourism Information Centre.  The District Council seeks to maintain the Castle Gardens to a high standard and in recognition of these standards and the involvement of the local community the Castle Gardens have gained a prestigious Green Flag Award for every year since 2001.