HISTORIC LONDON... Wellington Gardens Enters the development from Wellington Street between Regent Street and Victoria Street. Each May during the 1950s, The London Free Press would announce the opening of what was once the most popular private garden in London. Thousands would take the opportunity to drive through the grounds of Morgan Gardens, marvelling at the hundreds of species of tulips and the many cutting beds filled with perennials, including lemon day lilies, narcissus, grape hyacinth, blue bells, golden alyssum, phlox, and crown imperials. The Gardens were the property of Andrew Morgan, a successful seed merchant, incubator manufacturer, and poultry-supply dealer. In 1921, he built a new house on Wellington Street just south of Regent Street and continued to ornament his extensive grounds, which covered the northern two-fifths of the block. By the late 1920s, visitors could enter the gardens in their cars, tour the grounds, and exit onto Waterloo Street. The gardens declined in popularity in the years just before Morgan’s death in 1960. Later that year, Richard and Beryl Ivey bought the house and grounds. They replaced the old house with a more contemporary structure, and then turned to the gardens. Many elements of the original gardens were saved, some in their original location, as the Ivey’s own distinctive grounds took shape. In the early 1990s, the Iveys decided to sell their home at 990 Wellington Street. They acquired additional property to the south and created a small subdivision called Wellington Gardens. Several Regency-inspired one-storey houses have been completed, including their own home at 960 Wellington Street. Today, one can still catch a glimpse of a portion of the Morgan Gardens, adapted and restored by the Iveys, behind their former home.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:00:01 +0000