A GARDEN where Captain Cook’s boyhood home once stood is to be brought back to life in time for the 250th anniversary of his landing in New Zealand.

The Captain Cook memorial garden in Great Ayton is located on the site where the Cook family cottage stood, before the home was moved stone by stone to Australia. It was painstakingly rebuilt as a prized tourist attraction in Melbourne’s Fitzroy Gardens in 1933, where it still stands today.

Now Great Ayton Parish Council has successfully secured £16,800 worth of funding to rejuvenate the gardens from LEADER funds, the rural development programme for the UK which is jointly funded by DEFRA and the European Union.

The remaining funding is being supplied by the parish, with support also coming from Hambleton District Council.

The gardens should be ready next year, to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the explorer landing in New Zealand. Captain Cook had set sail for the new lands 249 years ago this month.

The garden is situated close to the centre of the village in the location of the Cook family cottage. The house is now marked by an obelisk in the garden after being moved to New Zealand.

Several years ago the Captain Cook Society and Great Ayton History Society received lottery funding to explore another location for a Cook family home in the village. It was looking into the theory that the house which was transplanted to Australia had been built by Captain Cook's father in 1755, after the young James Cook had left home and that he had actually lived with his father and mother on a property on land near Aireyholme Farm.

Archaeological research was carried out on the private land after extensive preparation and the remains of a home were found on the site, lending weight to the theory. An information board now informs visitors of the find.

Over the past few years the memorial garden site has fallen into decline, with the garden becoming overgrown and the obelisk deteriorating. It also lacks signs or information boards, so the site is often overlooked by visitors.

“Our project will revitalize this site – which is also the course of the ancient mill race – and bring back into focus an important asset for our village,” said Great Ayton Parish Council Chair, Cllr Angela Taylor.

“We hope it will become an inviting and informative place to visit and add to the other key places in the parish - including the Cook Schoolroom Museum, encouraging more visitors to the village.”

She said work will include clearing the site, restoring the garden, installing a new footpath, repairing the obelisk, recreating the cottage layout and installing interpretation boards. The work will be supported by a new website and leaflets.

It is hoped to re-open the site to coincide with the anniversary of the sale of the cottage by Captain Cook’s father, on May 16th, 1772.