Joshua Major was an English landscape gardener and designer, born on 28 August 1786 in Owston

Owston

Owston may refer to:Placenames:*Owston, Leicestershire, England*Owston Ferry, a village in Lincolnshire, England*Owston, South Yorkshire, England*Owston Islands in Antarctica.People:*Naturalist Alan Owston*P. G...

, near Doncaster

Doncaster

Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...

 in South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...

. His parents were Richard Major, an estate labourer, and Mary, née Bramma, and he was the youngest of their three children.

Major founded a nursery garden at Knowsthorpe

Knowsthorpe

Knowsthorpe, Knostrop or Knostropp is an area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, on the River Aire. The spelling "Knostrop" is predominantly used for the large water treatment works in the area...

 in Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

 and won awards at flower shows. His son Henry became a partner in the firm which became involved in landscape design. His firm was commissioned to landscape Hanover Square in Leeds in 1824 and Oakes Park in Sheffield

Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

 in 1834.

Major entered a competition to design some of the earliest public parks. He won the commission to design Peel Park

Peel Park, Salford

Peel Park is a public urban park in Salford, Greater Manchester, England located on the flood plain of the River Irwell below Salford Crescent and adjacent to the University of Salford...

 in Salford and Queens Park and Philips Park in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

. They were in densely populated areas and financed by public subscription. Parks designed by Major has areas for sport, recreation and walking.

Major wrote books on gardening and contributed to the Gardeners' Magazine.He was involved in the formation of the first Sunday school

Sunday school

Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...

in Leeds. He died in Leeds at the age of 79 in January 1866.