However, in recent years the display has been inactive due to the original system coming to the end of its life and no longer meeting the garden’s environmental standards, which include cutting back on the use of fresh water.

Following the death of founder and owner Sir Frederick Stern, Highdown Gardens were handed over to Worthing Borough Council in 1968 by his wife, Lady Sybil. The Council has carefully managed the gardens and their famous collection since.

As part of the Council’s sustainability drive, staff at the gardens have been on the lookout for new technology to power the water feature that could recycle the pond water, be cost effective and restore the flow down the fall to the pond and surrounding alpine rock gardens.

A solar powered battery and water pump were identified as the best solution to get the water feature flowing again, however, the Council lacked the funding to bring the historic feature back to life.

The generous donation from a businessman and garden visitor has enabled the sustainable adaptation of the feature for the 21st century.

The donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, made a private donation of £12,000 to fund the work and also donated a stunning, large Himalayan quartz crystal that will sit in the cave next to the pond. The crystal was quarried from the same mountains many of Stern’s exotic trees and shrubs were collected from.

Stern’s stunning plant collection has drawn important visitors from all backgrounds, including politicians and royalty - one of whom being his close friend, Prime Minister David Lloyd George. The former PM and his daughter Megan are pictured by Highdown Gardens’ pond during their visit in 1926.

On a sunny day, the solar panels will produce abundant energy to power the water pump, any excess energy will be stored in the rechargeable lithium batteries, ensuring there is sufficient energy to power the pump on cloudy days.

The project to revitalise the water feature was offered to a number of expert contractors in the area, but each deemed it too challenging to run a pump solely on solar energy. Much of the work was therefore researched and achieved by the Highdown team who, like Stern planting exotics into chalk more than 100 years ago, overcame the challenges. 

Other improvements were  made to the gardens using the kind donation, including; new signage and lighting. Water now flows to a bespoke corten steel bowl with a water blade that houses the Himalayan crystal, as well as new sections of Horsham ripple stone and even a fossilised log.

Cllr Vicki Wells, Worthing’s Cabinet Member for the Environment, said: “First of all, I’d like to say a massive thank you to Highdown’s donor for this incredibly generous contribution to our treasured gardens - the revitalising of this water feature wasn’t possible without them. 

The new water feature and various improvements to the rock garden and ponds are set to be officially opened next week.