acquisition by Liverpool Council

  The Proprietors had taken out a mortgage to finance the transfer to Edge Hill, but by the end of the 1830’s declining membership meant that annual subscriptions did not cover their normal outgoings, let alone the interest on this mortgage. By 1841 many of the original Proprietors now had their own private plant collections in vast glasshouses attached to their homes in leafy Liverpool suburbs such as Aigburth. Consequently, visiting the botanic garden became less of an attraction.

In March 1840 the Proprietors approached Liverpool Council for financial support. The Council’s conditions for any outlay were that the public should be able to enter free on a part of Sunday and another day. A lot of discussion then took place, but as proprietors were not themselves allowed to visit on Sundays, they were not willing to accede!

The proprietors eventually took matters into their own hands and opened the gardens to the public on Mondays and Fridays, from one o’clock until sunset, to prove to the council that the public would take advantage, even on working days. The result was that it was reported to Council on 8 July “the privilege having been embraced by a very large number of persons including the working classes and their families”. The Council then agreed to pay an Annual Grant of £100, in half-yearly instalments. 

  However, this grant was not enough to bridge the funding gap. At the AGM in January 1841, it was stated that the annual subscriptions income was only a third of what it was 20 years earlier. It was clear that in the previous year they must have asked proprietors to gift some money to help with the running costs, but two thirds had refused to give anything, and the remainder only donated £1,042. Total receipts during the year were £764, of which £710 was from annual subscriptions; the total expenditure was £735, and the balance owed to the bank was £3,051.

At the AGM of 1843 they reported that they had been able to borrow nearly all they needed to pay off the debt, for the period of seven years, at 3% interest. The Bank of Liverpool had made up the difference. This reduced their annual interest payments by £54. However, so many subscribers had forfeited their shares by not paying their subscriptions, they were £20 worse off than the previous year!

They tried to stem this tide of defection by opening the garden to proprietors and annual subscribers on Sundays, after two o’clock, as this was said to be the cause of the loss of members. A band was engaged to play on twelve evenings in the summer; and they planned three public exhibitions, free of charge to the subscribers.

The 1844 AGM finally had some good news, as the horticultural exhibitions had been very successful and there was sufficient to meet the amount distributed in prizes and to cover incidental expenses. There was clearly a major emphasis on making the garden more accessible to the general public by re-labelling every specimen. It is recorded that there were 3,366 species of hardy trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants, as well as 1,657 species in the glasshouses. They reported that expenditure exceeded income by £105 but considered that this deficit was caused by special one-off costs. There was an expectation that costs would be reduced in the future, as the garden would be exempt from local taxes as a result of a recent Act of Parliament. 

  In January 1846 the AGM noted that, although the gardens were in a better state than they had been for many a year, with large and valuable additions from Kew and various private individuals, the committee were still obliged to recommend its sale. They had considered increasing the annual subscription to two and a half guineas, but it was argued that that would drive more away!

It was agreed “In consequence of the gradual decay of botanical taste in the wealthy classes of the community, and the inadequate support which this admirable and perfect establishment has long received, to offer them first for sale to the town council, and if that body should decline to purchase, to break up the gardens, dispose of the plants and hothouses, and sell the land in building lots.”

On 6 March 1846 the Council Surveyor was asked to “report whether it would be advantageous to the Corporate Estate and desirable for public benefit, that the Corporation should purchase the Botanic Garden and on what terms such purchase be made.”

The Surveyor reported that the area of land was worth about £8,100, that is, much more than the debt. However, the Council could not agree on the permanent maintenance of such an institution, which could only be supported from surplus income, of which there might not be any! 

 However, the Town Clerk suggested that it could be purchased under the recently passed Museums Act (July 1845), provided the Council consented to raise the Funds. 

The Finance Committee recommended this course of action on 27 March 1846 and the Council meeting of 7 May 1846 approved it and authorised the Finance Committee to take all necessary steps to complete the purchase under the provisions of the museum act 1845. They stated that “as a general feeling seems to prevail that these Gardens alike so conducive to science and recreation ought not to be abandoned and the public thereby deprived of the opportunity which might be afforded of cultivating one of the most important branches of natural history.”

In July 1846 the Town Clerk petitioned the UK Treasury for permission to borrow money to purchase the Botanic Gardens, which was approved. The Chairman of the Finance Committee reported on the 17thJuly that the liabilities of the Trustees consisted of a debt of £1,150 10s 8d and Bonds due to various parties who had advanced money amounted to £2,580, making the whole £3,730 10s 8d which was to be paid by the Corporation for the property, including the Library and the Plants, Tools and Implements. Some members of the Finance Committee attended the Botanic Garden on 23 July to receive possession.

On the 28 August the Treasurer reported that he had arranged for a loan of £3,800, at 4% interest, over 7 years, from John O’Kill (£2,000) and Samuel H. Thompson (£1,800). It took until 23 October before the Finance Committee approved this arrangement.

The purchase of the Botanic Gardens was completed by the Corporation on 28 April 1848 and the purchase price was £3,800!

  When the Liverpool Council took ownership on 23 July 1846, they reacted amazingly quickly, as the Main Council asked the Garden Committee on the 5th of August 1846 to frame the rules for the Regulation and Management of these gardens and for the admission of the public. This Committee asked for help from various parties as no one had any experience with managing a Public Garden. They applied to “Woods & Forests” for a copy of their regulations for parks & gardens; to the Curator of the Derby Arboretum for a copy of their regulations and any others that might assist. The Derby Arboretum was the first specially designed urban park in Britain, commissioned and donated by Joseph Strutt for the benefit of citizens of Derby in 1840. 

Later in September Lord Morpeth and Sir W.J. Hooker were also asked for information as to the regulation for admitting the public to Gardens under Government control and at Kew. Their replies were of no help!

In November the Rules and Regulations were issued to be approved by the Main Council and were modified almost every year since that time.