James Stuart Garden and Stuart Court

Location

5 Recorder Road, Norwich, NR1 1NR

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About

James Stuart was a scientist, educationalist and politician, and was an eminent and much-respected adopted son of Norwich. After his death in 1913, his sisters-in-law, Ethel and Helen Colman, devised a scheme to suitably honour him. They built a block of 22 flats, tastefully designed by Edward Boardman & Son and conveniently furnished, to be let at a low rent to those in need. (The need for adequate accommodation was at the time greater than ever, as the city was still recovering from the devastating flood of 1912.) The housing block, which was run on a charitable basis and named Stuart Court, was opened on 18 September 1915.

Meanwhile, Stuart's widow Laura Stuart (neé Colman) purchased a patch of land opposite Stuart Court and began to plan a garden that would offer an escape into nature from the busy Norwich streets. World War I delayed the works by several years, and Laura did not live to see the realisation of her plans. However, her sisters Ethel and Helen brought the project to fruition, and the James Stuart Garden was officially opened to the public on 19 July 1922.