Gibraltar Botanic Gardens

In 1816 the Botanical Gardens were commissioned by the British Governor of Gibraltar General George Don. It was his intention that the soldiers stationed in the fortress would have a pleasant recreational area to enjoy when off duty, and so inhabitants could enjoy the air protected from the extreme heat of the sun.

The gardens were resurrected in 1991 by an external company when it was realised that since the 1970s they had fallen into a poor state. Three years later the gardens had the addition of a zoo: the Alameda Wildlife Conservation Park.

In 2001 a bronze sculpture of James Joyce's Molly Bloom was installed in the gardens. This running figure was commissioned from Jon Searle to celebrate the bicentenary of the Gibraltar Chronicle in 2001.

The Eliott Memorial

General Don had commissioned a memorial of George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield in 1815, which did not materialise in the form initially requested. A colossal statue of General Eliot, carved from the bowsprit of the Spanish ship San Juan Nepomuceno, taken at the Battle of Trafalgar was first created. That statue was taken to the Governor's residence, The Convent, where it stands today, being replaced by the present bronze bust in 1858. This statue is guarded for four 18th-century howitzers.

References:

• Wikipedia

Address

Red Sands Road 7, Gibraltar, United Kingdom

Details

Founded: 1816
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in United Kingdom