Broomhill Library

In the 1920s, prominent garden designer of his day, Percy Cane, designed a new garden around a victorian villa in Sheffield. The villa now stands as a community library with poor access and a garden in ruins. Urban Wilderness were commissioned by the library community charity to restore the historic landscape, and, alongside Thread Architects, improve access to the building and the functionality of its adjacent spaces.  

The scheme is grant funded and as such has required careful management of different workstages running in tandem. Whilst the conceptual design for a new access associated with the proposed extension was being developed, another funding pot became available to facilitate the detailed design and implementation of the Rock Garden restoration. Urban Wilderness worked closely with the library historian to develop planting palettes and patterns appropriate to our knowledge of Percy Cane. The Rock Garden was ultimately implemented by local community members under our supervision and direction. Securing funds for the wider scheme is ongoing and Urban Wilderness continue to provide advice in support of this process.