Horatio's Garden, Sheffield
Horatio’s Garden is a charity which creates landscaped gardens for NHS spinal injury centres. The charity provides restorative spaces for patients and their families to enjoy, following the research of Horatio Chapple which recognised the need for respite away from the hospital environment.
Desco delivered the MEP services design for their eighth project – Horatio’s Garden Sheffield & East, at the Princess Royal Spinal Injuries Centre. This is the second largest spinal injury centre within the UK. The scheme falls under Desco’s commitment to corporate social responsibility, and we provided the design services at a reduced rate as part of our commitment.
The garden, which was created on a former car park and includes four distinct structures: a garden room, a greenhouse, an office/shed and a pod, gives staff, volunteers and visiting artists a space to lead gardening and creative activities for patients spending long periods of time in the hospital. Some of the key design features include an accessible multi-height water feature inspired by Sheffield’s industrial landscape. Also, layered and sensory planting to allow interaction for patients in beds or wheelchairs.
Princess Anne attended the official opening ceremony of the gardens on 25th July 2025 and was based on a design by Harris Bugg Studio that won best in show in 2023 at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show.
The scheme falls under Desco’s commitment to corporate social responsibility.
Photos courtesy of Gleeds Photography