Cannon Hall Gardens awarded platinum by Yorkshire in Bloom  

Cannon Hall Park and Gardens has been received a Platinum Award and been named Joint Category Winner in this year’s Yorkshire in Bloom competition.   

This award recognises the people whose dedication helps make Barnsley’s parks, gardens and community spaces a welcoming place for residents and visitors to enjoy. 

We would like to say a huge thank you to those who have contributed to the success in this competition.  Head Gardener, Dan, and his team of gardeners and volunteers have continuously work tirelessly to keep the gardens looking wonderful all year round.  

This marks the second year running in which Cannon Hall Gardens has been awarded platinum at the Yorkshire in Bloom awards.   

Judges of the competition, Rebecca Foster and Richard Dewsbury said, “Cannon Hall Museum, Park and Gardens is a wonderful place to visit. It was evident that Dan, Roger and the excellent staff and volunteer team work tremendously hard to keep it looking clean, tidy, litter free and attractive to visitors throughout the year.” 

About the gardens  

The 18th century gardens were created with the same love and passion as was invested in Cannon Hall by the Spencer Stanhope family, with each element curated to showcase its spectacular landscape. Inspired by the Pre-Raphaelite age, the setting has been used as a backdrop for many marriage proposals and weddings.  

Additionally, the historic gardens have long offered a habitat to a wide variety of animals, birds and insects. Throughout the landscape, the parklands are constantly alive with activity and below the waterline of the magnificent lakes is a wealth of fish and amphibians.  

The judges complimented Cannon Halls gardens, ‘stunning range of apple and pear trees’, its ‘very old fashioned flourishing grapevine’ and the gardens ‘colourful vibrant and scented surroundings’ which encourage biodiversity.  

The wide variety of plants, trees and flowers and the collections of fruit demonstrates a committed conservation of the widescale greenery and the protection of the landscape remains just as important of Cannon Hall’s upkeep.  

Without the dedicated staff and volunteers who are solely focused on the care of the parkland and invest hours in its upkeep, the preservation of this space would not be possible.  

  

The current Leeds Fine Artists exhibition on display inside the hall includes works featuring the gardens and parkland. ‘Cannon Hall Park’ by Jane Burgess was painted in one session ‘en plein air’ in the grounds, where the artists spent time exploring the gardens the create new artwork for the collection.  

Visitors can explore the parkland on any day and will see walkers soaking up the atmosphere, dogs exploring the grounds, families spending time together and friends socialising – all continuing the tradition of making special memories in this treasured place.