LOOKING at the extensive cluster of Victorian terraces in the Arboretum, it s hard to imagine that this suburb was once the site of fabulous public pleasure gardens. The Aboretum has featured many times down the years in the Worcester News, and writer Mike Grundy was one of many to pen stories based on its past. In one ofhis accounts, he wrote: So magnificent and beautiful were the Sansome Fields and Arboretum Gardens that they made Worcester the envy of many a provincial town and city. In their heyday, the pleasure grounds had a huge central fountain, a crystal palace at the end of the main drive, promenades, sports facilities and a broad avenue of tall elms.