About Us
Sydney Courtauld donated the Gardens as a gift to the town’s people in 1888. Seeing the thundering horse drawn traffic on the Causeway, he determined to make an area where people, particularly children, could walk more safely.
What we see today is his legacy to the people of Braintree & Bocking. How apt that 135 years later, the Gardens still provide an oasis of tranquillity away from the traffic thundering through the town.
The total area of the Garden is around five acres, incorporating over 200 trees, as well as gorgeously maintained flower beds, a pond, a play area, foot paths and a large grass area, to picnic, relax, or play, as well as two tennis courts for the more athletic.
The Gardens are free for all to use and are open 9:00am to dusk every day, except for Christmas Day and for certain Events throughout the year.
The Gardens are independently owned and maintained by the Braintree and Bocking Public Gardens Trust. The care and upkeep of the Gardens is funded entirely through the fund-raising activities of the Trustees and the efforts of our volunteer gardeners.
There are regular Brass Band concerts throughout the summer, as well as other fund-raising events such as the Festival in The Gardens, The Little Legs Festival, a Classic Car Show, and a Christmas Raffle.
Additionally, there is The Coffee House in The Gardens, situated in the gatekeeper’s cottage, just inside the main entrance, which is open seven days a week from 10:00am until 2:00pm, all year round.
The Coffee House provides quality food and refreshments, and has become a community hub, as well as supporting the park’s many events, and being a go-to place for the town’s businesspeople and residents for a relaxing break and some refreshments.
