Nestled at the very back of St Luke’s Hospital grounds lie the remains of the gardens of Villa Frere, a once expansive and magnificent attraction that hosted dignitaries, royalty, scholars and poets, and was even profiled by Country Life Magazine in 1930.

But in the years after the Second World War, the 14-tumoli grounds that were lovingly tended to by the Rt. Hon. John Hookham Frere in the mid-1800s, and later turned into a world-class botanical garden by Captain Edward Price, were slowly eaten away. St Luke’s Hospital needed expansion, and a new nursing school, helipad, and primary school had to be built. The grounds of Villa Frere were the only piece of land that could be claimed, after the death of Captain Price’s widow, Giuseppina. The gardens dwindled away; two-thirds of it are now gone, and the one-third that remains has laid in a shabby and abandoned state for 70 years, ransacked, vandalised and completely at the mercy of the elements.

The plight of Villa Frere was largely unknown to the public until an architecture student named Edward Said stumbled upon it in 2013 and decided to do something about the desperate state it was in. He got in touch with Jo Tyndale Biscoe, Captain Price’s great-granddaughter, and, after writing his Master’s thesis about the gardens, he founded the NGO Friends of Villa Frere, together with Peter Borg Ghigo, in order to bring together a group of like-minded individuals who recognise the importance of Villa Frere to Malta’s historical and cultural heritage.

Upon my visit to the Villa, I spoke to Fernando Mifsud, a landscaper and garden designer, who for the past two years, along with Perit Said, has been the Villa’s main champion, co-ordinating the ongoing restoration efforts. “We have a great team of volunteers always coming and going here,” Fernando says. Indeed, he started out by coming just once a month, but he quickly became obsessed with the place. He is now at the gardens nearly everyday, along with his father, George, a self-taught stone mason and restorer, fuelled by nothing but a desire to see the gardens returned to their original glory.

And, they have achieved a great deal in the past few years. The restoration and planting efforts have been meticulous, using historical photos and documents as guides to ensure that it looks as much like it would have done in its heyday. “Villa Frere is a unique example of a neoclassical British landscaped garden in Malta. We are extremely cautious. We want to be as historically accurate as possible. Everything in the garden has to fit in with the theme,” Fernando says.

There is also a plan in the pipeline to remove the unwieldy parking area separating the gardens from the Doric folly that stands forlornly on its own, and turn it into another part of the garden, thus re-connecting the tempietto to the grounds where it belongs.

“My dream for Villa Frere is that it will someday be restored, open to be enjoyed by the public, and used for cultural events that would have made Hookham Frere proud. After all, it was an unofficial university at the time! Scholars, poets and diplomats could come to Villa Frere to mingle. He always opened his doors to people who couldn’t afford to study abroad, and even sometimes paid their scholarships.”

“Even Mikiel Anton Vassalli, who revived Maltese as a national language, frequented the Villa when he returned to Malta. Hookham Frere brought him back from exile; they would often stroll through the lower gardens together and consult each other on important affairs. He even sponsored his first books – so you can say that it’s the place where the Maltese written language was born. There’s so much intangible heritage tied to this garden; it’s really not just any garden or old stately home.”

Last month, Friends of Villa Frere signed a partnership and management agreement with Heritage Malta for the promotion, public availability, and the running and operation of Villa Frere. “Villa Frere is a national monument,” Fernando says. “Through the management agreement, we’ll benefit from Heritage Malta’s experience and knowledge when it comes to the management of cultural sites. We’ll have more resources, help when it comes to applications, access to government funds, and we’ll also be able to host joint events.” There are also plans for a number of summer activities, including cosy drinks, intimate poetry evenings, and cinema nights.

However, it’s not all good news – the historic gardens of Villa Frere, and the neighbouring Giardino Zamittello are facing a serious threat as plans are unveiled for a new 10-storey hotel. The 200-year-old Giardino Zamittello, whose High Baroque gardens are even older than Villa Frere’s would be demolished to make way for the new building, while Villa Frere would also be severely compromised by the towering structure, with the disproportionate height of the new hotel completely cutting off the last remaining views from its belvedere. “It could destroy everything we’ve worked so hard on,” Fernando says, sadly.

While there’s still time to object, the NGO is working hard to collect signatures to defend the importance of the Villa. Until 11.59pm this Friday 8th March, you can email [email protected], putting [email protected] in copy and PA/00698/19 in the subject field, stating your objection. You can also donate to Friends of Villa Frere, which constantly needs money to help fund the ongoing restoration. And of course, if you choose to donate some of your time as well, the team of volunteers will only be too happy to see you.

Villa Frere is open to the public every first Saturday of the month from 9am to 12.30pm, and hosts a number of open days throughout the year, usually on a Sunday. You can find Friends of Villa Frere on Facebook.