Stanley Park reopens Victorian glasshouse

12:20 2nd September 2009

It may have taken nearly two years of restoration, but the Isla Gladstone Conservatory in Liverpool's Stanley Park is once again open for business.

Located between the stadiums of the city's two main football teams, the venue and cafe is now marketing itself as the ideal place to enjoy match day hospitality.

The 110-year-old greenhouse was named after arts and crafts screen printer Isla Gladstone - a cousin of former prime minister William Gladstone.

It was taken down and reconstructed piece by piece to provide the 45-hectare (110-acre) Edward Kemp-designed green space with a 1,483-pane glazed building.

Around 72,000 new trees and plants have been added as part of the multi-million pound revamp of the facilities, while the third lake has also been repaired and refilled for the enjoyment of the park's users.

Meanwhile, the Royal Horticultural Society recently revealed a Botanic Gardens Conservation International study has shown as many as one in seven European plants could be at risk of extinction.