Gardens’ history goes back nearly a century

The chimney of the Dufton Woollen Mill still stands in the Stratford Shakespearean Gardens, which officially opened in 1936.

CONNOR LUCZKA, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Stratford Shakespearean Gardens are a common site for tourists, though its history goes back nearly 90 years, back when Stratford wasn’t a tourism mecca but a rail town in the middle of southwestern Ontario.

The gardens are located just next to the Perth County Courthouse on Huron Street, just before the stone bridge crossing the Avon River. Like its name suggests, it is a Shakespeare garden, a garden that specifically cultivates some of the plants mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare. They are common globally; however, in Canada there are only a few public gardens known. As such, the garden in Stratford, which has grown over 60 species of plants mentioned in the Bard’s plays, attracts thousands of visitors each and every year. 

The garden was previously the site of the Dufton Woollen Mill, the chimney of which is the only feature that survived an early 20th century fire and still stands today. Thomas Orr, a community leader, had previously wanted to create a Shakespeare garden downtown and when the empty lands were put up for sale, he petitioned the council of the day to purchase the land. 

The city acquired the land in 1925 and opened the garden in 1936. Due to the Great Depression that same decade, the project took longer than previously thought. The garden was officially opened by then Governor General of Canada, Lord Tweedsmuir.

The garden’s relevance only compounded with the Stratford Festival’s opening in 1953. Its influence is so entrenched that the chimney tower that still looms over the garden is featured on the city’s official logo. 

In February of this year, council designated the gardens and certain aspects of the gardens as a heritage site, including the chimney tower, the original stone walls throughout the garden, the lychgate located on Huron Street, the knot garden, the herb garden, the rose garden, the perennial border garden, the walkway lamp lighting, the sundial and the bust of William Shakespeare.

A blue plaque recognizing the history of the heritage site will be the garden’s newest feature, though it has yet to be delivered and installed.