Edward Kemp

Edward Kemp (25 September 1817 – 1 March 1891) was an English landscape architect and an author. Together with Joseph Paxton and Edward Milner, Kemp became one of the leaders in the design of parks and gardens during the mid-Victorian era in England.

Biography Kemp was born at Streatham, Surrey (now Lambeth), the son of Charles Kemp, a tailor, and his wife, Ann. In the 1830s he worked with Edward Milner as a garden apprentice at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire under Joseph Paxton. Paxton appointed Kemp to be superintendent of the park, and Kemp took up this post in September 1843 when he was aged 25. Paxton was responsible for the overall planning and design, while Kemp was involved with the day to day implementation of the plans. By the summer of 1845 Paxton's work was more or less complete, and he recommended to the Commissioners that Kemp be retained as superintendent and to be provided with a residence; this was accepted. Parks and gardens that are particularly important, of more than special interest Parks and gardens of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve them

+ List of the gardens and other works, locations, year of construction, and notes.Name andtown or villageCounty andcoordinatesPhotographDateNotes and present stateBirkenhead ParkBirkenhead Merseyside1843For Birkenhead Improvement Commissioners. The park plan was designed by Joseph Paxton and the building was supervised by Kemp. Designated a conservation area in 1977 and declared a Grade I listed landscape by English Heritage in 1995.Carlett ParkEasthamMerseyside1846For William Laird, the 3rd son of shipbuilder William Laird. The park was laid out under Kemp’s supervision. Kemp's landscaping has been incorporated into Eastham Lodge Golf Course. Lymm HallLymmCheshire1849This was Kemp's first completed commission, for James Barratt. It consisted of a flower (or rose) garden. Its present condition is unknown. StanacresThornton HoughMerseyside1850Designed for Owen Jones, Liverpool timber merchant. Now Thornton Court. Its present condition is not known. Lytham HallLytham St AnnesLancashire c. 1850Laid out the drive. LimegroveChesterCheshire1853Designed for Robert Frost, Chester flour miller, in Lower Park Road, Queen's Park, Chester, next door to Redcliff (now Lindengrove). The present state is not known. RedcliffChesterCheshire1853Designed for Thomas Gibbons Frost, Chester flour miller, in Lower Park Road, Queen's Park, Chester, next door to Limegrove. The present state is not known. Halton GrangeRuncornCheshire100px1853–54Designed for Thomas Johnson, soap and alkali manufacturer of John & Thomas Johnson. Now a public park adjacent to Runcorn Town Hall. Most of the garden as planned by Kemp has been destroyed. Capernwray HallCarnforthLancashire100px1855For the Marton family. Park PlaceFrodshamCheshire1855Commissioned by Joseph Stubs, a manufacturer of engineers' tools in Warrington. The house was later known as Castle Park and the gardens are a public park. The essential elements of Kemp's design are still present. Norley HallNorleyCheshire1855–56For Samuel Woodhouse. Present condition not known. Description and partial plan is in How to Lay Out a Garden (3rd ed.). Agden HallAgdenCheshirec. 1856For Thomas Sebastian Bazley. No further details known. St Helens CemeterySt Helens Merseyside100px1858For St Helens Burial Board. FoxdaleBunburyCheshire1860For William Boulton Aspinall. Plan and description is in How to Lay Out a Garden (3rd ed.). Birkdale ParkBirkdaleMerseyside1860For Thomas Weld Blundell. Residential suburb containing villas set in their own grounds. Many elements survive. Waterloo HouseRuncornCheshire100px1860For Charles Hazlehurst, soap and alkali manufacturer of Hazlehurst & Sons. Now built up. Anfield CemeteryLiverpoolMerseyside100px1863For Liverpool Burial Board. Still functioning as a cemetery. It is listed Grade II*. It is on the Heritage at Risk Register. Pyrgo ParkHavering-atte-BowerGreater London80px centre1863For Joseph Bray. Now a public park. Flaybrick CemeteryBirkenheadMerseyside60px centre1864For Birkenhead's Improvement Commissioners. Still functioning as a cemetery. It is listed Grade II*. Southport CemeterySouthportMerseyside100px1865Still in use as a cemetery. Grosvenor Park ChesterCheshire100px1867The land and the design of the park were paid for by Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster. Still open as a public park. It is listed Grade II. Newsham ParkLiverpoolMerseyside100px1868Designed for the Liverpool Improvement Committee. It continues in use as a public park and had been designated Grade II. The park is on the Heritage at Risk Register. Hesketh ParkSouthportMerseyside100px1868For the Southport Improvement Commissioners, possibly assisted by Joseph Paxton. It is still used a public park and is designated Grade II. Stanley ParkLiverpoolMerseyside100px1870For Liverpool Corporation. Designated Grade II. Congleton ParkCongletonCheshire60px centre1871Designed with William Blackshaw, the town surveyor, for the town council. It is still open as a public park, and has been designated at Grade II. Massey HallThelwallCheshire1874Designed for Peter Rylands, MP for Warrington, and a member of a family running a wire-drawing works. The garden remains much as it was when Kemp designed it. Queen's Park, CreweCheshire100px1888Designed for Crewe Municipal Borough Council, following negotiations by Francis Webb with the London and North Western Railway to donate the land. The park is still in public use and is designated as Grade II. UnderscarApplethwaiteCumbria UnknownNow the grounds of a hotel. ShendishApsleyHertfordshire UnknownNow the grounds of a hotel. Kemp's design has more or less survived. Dibbinsdale BankAllport RoadBromboroughMerseysideUnknownFor George Whitley. No further details known. Ledsham HallLedshamCheshireUnknownNo further details known. Leighton HallWelshpoolPowys