The Development of the Municipal Park from 1837 to 1910

The industrial towns of the Victorian and Grand Edwardian eras (1837-1910) were grim places.    Two Members of Parliament, R.A. Slayne and E. Chadwick, were responsible for passing the Public Health Bill of 1846.   The Act of Parliament ensured towns provided walks for the public at a time of industrial pollution and contamination.    Probably the most important development was the designing and building of Municipal Parks that began in the middle of the 19^th Century.   

This was a significant period of time for the creating of gardens in Great Britain.   A variety of civic parks were established.

The Ornamental City Park consisted mainly of artificial lakes, shelters and specimen trees.   The parks were often built in association with New Towns, for example Birkenhead Park, near Liverpool, designed by Joseph Paxton, was developed in 1845.

The birth of the public parks department spread and the gardens cared for changed from simple walks with trees and shrub planting to more ornate bedding and planting.  Many of these places used original lakes as boating areas.  Playing fields were established.  The gardens of the cemetery, crematorium were constructed.   

Cumbria followed the trend and in Barrow in Furness Thomas Mawson designed a 40 acre Municipal Park that opened in 1901.   The park has one of the largest spans of ornamental water in Cumbria with numerous walk ways and paths to encourage people working in industry to take fresh air through promenading.

In 1846 the Howards of Greystoke Castle created an arboretum below a series of waterfalls and planted over two hundred specimen conifers – firs, pines, spruce and cedar – from all over the world.   By 1900 the expansion of the railway system was opening up the Lake Country to more and more holiday makers.   Important stretches of the Ullswater shore were procured for development by the National Trust, Britain’s largest conservation charity.   In 1906 the charitable trust purchased 750 acres of Gowbarrow Park, that included the arboretum and waterfalls, for £12,000 in order to conserve the area and prevent it being sold for housing.   Today Aira Force and Gowbarrow Park form part of the Ullswater Way, a 22 mile walking route around the Lake District National Park’s second longest lake.

Aira Force, Ullswater

Bitts Park in the City of Carlisle was the first public park to be established in the City of Carlisle.   Some of the paths date back to 1818.    The paths were built by unemployed weavers to form a riverside walkway beside the River Eden.    By 1893 the park on the site of a former refuse tip was opened and named the Peoples’ Park.   After a later extension the park was renamed The Bitts (small parcels of land used for grazing).

A statue of Queen Victoria (1819-1901) has been watching over the people of Carlisle since the 7^th May 1902 just over a year after she died.    The park follows the Hadrian’s Wall National Trail as it runs along the riverside boundary of the park.   Distinct areas include a combination of formal lawns and floral display.

The Hollow – a sunken area adjacent to Hardwicke Circus and Eden Bridge, with spectacular rhododendron displays and golden weeping willow trees.

The Garden of Memories – a formal area for quiet reflection.

The Riverside Trail – an area of mature trees and plants managed for the benefit of wildlife.  Modern day additions are a children's play area, a running route, a splash park, a skate park and an outdoor gym.

In April 1882 a group of eminent people living in Keswick established The Fitz Park Trust.   More than 28 acres of riverside and land was purchased for £7,049, at the time a considerable sum.   A competition was organised for the design and landscaping of the area.    The Upper Park was to be a formal garden and games area and the larger Lower Park as open recreational vicinity.   The winner of the prize was a Mr. W. Fletcher from London whose quotation for the contract was £2,226. 

The basic layout of Fitz Park, as it was to become, has not changed significantly to this day, although a triangle of land across the River Greta was gifted to the Trust in 1923.

The Keswick Museum was opened in 1898; later an extension was added to form an Art Gallery.   Today the Museum still retains its Victorian appearance.    The contents include geological and natural history collections, an extensive selection from the Keswick School of Industrial Art and Design, prose and poetry from famous residents of Keswick as well as local works of art.

Municipal Parks throughout the United Kingdom have been essential to the wellbeing since the beginning of the 19^th Century.    Today they are an integral part of our health, safety and welfare.

The estimated number of Parks and Green spaces in the United Kingdom is more than 27,000.    These spaces are diverse ranging from large principal parks with many facilities and amenities to small neighbourhood parks. 

Windsor Great Park in Berkshire, with its famous Long Walk, is the largest, measuring 28.53 square kilometres and dwarves the other in size by comparison.