Just off the Esplanade lies South Cliff Gardens much loved Rose Garden.
It was create by prominent Scarborough born Bookseller and Art Dealer, George Lord Beeforth who owned 13 acres of land on the undercliff known as the Belvedere Gardens after the grand house he had built for himself on the Esplanade opposite. Beeforth had private access from his home to his gardens via a subway which ran under the public road. During World War Two this was recommissioned as a public air raid shelter.
Beeforth was extremely knowledgeable about forestry, he not only planted his own land with dozens of varieties of trees and evergreen shrubs but also encouraged the Cliff Bridge Corporation, owners of the rest of the South Cliff grounds to do the same on their land. In order to shelter over 1400 rose bushes that comprised his Large Rose Garden from strong easterly winds he also planted hundreds of trees and shrubs around its perimeter.
FUN FACT: Beeforth used the gardens to host charity parties. Six pence secured a homemade tea and entertainment.
In 1912 The Scarborough Corporation purchased the whole 13 acre site from Beeforth for £5500, £3000 of which was for the Rose Garden alone.
In 2014 the Friends of South Cliff Gardens made a successful bid for almost £50,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to restore the Rose Garden after it had fallen into disrepair. Over the course of 15 months this dedicated group of volunteers, supported by the Scarborough Borough Council Parks and Countryside team transformed the site, including adding new drainage and topsoil and planting almost 11,000 new rose bushes. They also pruned back growth from trees and shrubs to improve light and added an information board for visitors. The work was completed in 2015 and is open for public use.
