There was a lot of quarrying in and around Dundee in the 19th century. The quarries by Baxter Park were the Craigie and Gallowhill quarries, whose rocks would help shape what became known as the ‘Dell’
Dolerite was the main stone that was quarried, a kind of igneous rock that was used for paving stones and streetscaping, along with basalt. Both are dark-coloured igneous rocks, and shown on maps as ‘whinstone’ quarries,
The majority of quarrying near Dundee produced these low quality rocks, unlike the higher quality sandstone quarried in Fife and elsewhere.
The Rockery or ‘Dell’ was a significant element of Sir Joseph Paxton’s original plans for the Park, his design utilising the element of surprise. Visitors could enter the Park from the north-east gate, come down through the rockery, moving from a dark and narrow space into open sunlight and space. Its purpose was to ‘introduce variety into the landscape by exposing the rugged face of nature’.
Planting of the rockery were mainly a mix of alpines – which were growing in popularity in the 19th century- and ferns, many of them ‘creeping species’. There were also ‘some of the rarest species of ferns’, reported to be an attraction for botanists. It was also reported that the intention was to label principal plants, flowers and shrubs across all of the Park as means of instruction, although it’s not known if this happened. Effectively, the Dell and the Park itself was to be as much a scientific display as it was artistic.
Only small portions of the Dell remain today after being infilled in 1956. However, around 1965 a small rock garden was laid out on its western edge, although nothing seems to remain today. If the Dell was to be fully restored, it would have to be done cautiously; there are very old tree root systems that run through the area now, so it has been suggested that any potential reconstruction should be reversible.
