The Temple Gardens

The Temple Gardens have been restored following their 19th century design,
although the site`s history extends back to the Roman period.
The earliest evidence of development on the site dates from the Romano
British period (1st-4th century AD), when Lincoln was a Roman defensive
town. Part of the site was located within the lower Roman Colonia and a
Roman wall and rampart was built with a ditch system to defend the city.

During the Medieval period (11th-15th century AD) the city re-used the former Roman fortifications and the churches of St. Andrew`s and Holy Trinity occupied the site but all trace of these has now gone. To the north lies the medieval Bishops' Old Palace, and beyond that the Cathedral.
Between 1824 and 1864 Joseph Moore, a local 'gentleman & solicitor'
established a 'garden and pleasure ground' on the site. He named the site
'Temple Gardens' after the Temple he erected at the highest point and charged Lincoln residents an annual subscription for access.

Joseph Moore laid the site out as a pleauure garden with well tended planting and carefully placed antiquities adding further interest for the paying visitor.The focus of the gardens was the small Temple at the top of the site. A Greek style Temple copied from the Choragic Monument of Thrasyllus and a statue of Niobe adorns the roof, it forms the termination of a long vista from Broadgate.

The gardens were an important venue for band concerts, galas and exhibitions. In 1861 they were the venue of the Lincoln Exhibition - a month long exhibition of local arts, science and manufacturing which attracted 30,000 visitors.

Follwing the death of Joseph Moore in 1864 the Temple Gardens were closed and fell into disrepair. In 1920 Lincoln Corporation purchased the gardens as a site for a new gallery to house the priceless collection of art bequeathed to the Corporation by James Ward Usher (1845-1921).

Designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield (1856-1942), the new Usher Art Gallery
was opened by HRH The Prince of Wales in 1927, with the Temple Gardens
becoming freely available to the public at the same time. Sir Reginald
Blomfield also designed The Garden Pavilion looking out over Lindum Hill,
and the boundary wall and gate piers, although the railings were removed
during WWII as part of the war effort.

The 2003 restoration scheme has involved the restoration of the horticultural
and architectural elements of the gardens, Funded by the City of Lincoln
Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund the project had included the
introduction of a new path network and planting along with the restoration of
the grade II listed Garden Temple as the focus of the entire site.