The Southend Cliff Gardens are a remarkably special place in our city and our history. They have been used by huge numbers of people over the years and are an important, bio-diverse green space at the heart of our seafront. South facing and overlooking the Thames, they give a unique view of our estuary and coastal location.
But they have been under serious threat for some time. Ongoing minor slippage is displacing foot paths and steps, and rather than repair these over time, the Council has taken to simply barricading footpaths. This technique has spread and it is easy to see that it will get worse and one day we will be barred from all of the sloping cliff gardens. Other problems also exist and the general lack of maintenance is now becoming critical. Quite frankly, it casts a very poor impression of our city.
But the Cliff Gardens are important and Milton Society have researched them and written a paper describing their fascinating history. This goes back to the C18 and the earliest use of the Shrubbery gardens for access to the first bathing huts, through the Victorian and then Edwardian expansion of the gardens and their use for perambulation and taking in the air to entertainment at Happy Valley and later, Floral Hall. Large crowds attended and even political rallies with took place with visits from Lloyd George and Ramsey MacDonald. Numerous shelters, the Queen Victoria Statue, the funicular lift and the bandstand were all constructed at this time. The gardens were further expanded to the west-cliff during the interwar years and included two large sun shelters (one survives today) and various ornamental features. Post war saw the construction of the Cliffs Pavilion, clearly linked to the earlier but then lost Floral Hall.
You can read this paper here: Southend Cliff Gardens – A review for National Listing on the Register of Park and Gardens
Latterly, the cliffs suffered a major slip and the bandstand had to be relocated. Whilst the cliffs have been stabilised the landscaping has been left, almost deserted as a crudely leveled terrace and no attempt to renew or rebuild the ornamental landscaping.
Now is the time to step in and Save Our Cliffs – watch this space for our emerging campaign!