 Strutt is probably best known for his gift to the people of Derby of the Arboretum, which was designed to give instruction and be a place for exercise and entertainment; it is also recorded as the first public park in England.He enlisted the services of John Claudius Loudon to lay out his design, which was completed at a personal cost of £10,000.Strutt died on 13 January 1844 at his home in St. Peters Street, after attending a meeting to cast his vote in favour of improving Derby's sanitary conditions.