Mowbray Park
Encyclopedia
Mowbray Park is a municipal park in the centre of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear
, England
, located a few hundred yards from the busy throughfares of Holmeside and Fawcett Street and bordered by Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens
to the north, Burdon Road to the west, Toward Road to the east and Park Road to the south.
The park was voted best in Britain in 2008.
.
The roots of Mowbray Park date back to the 1830s, when a health inspector recommended building a leafy area in the town after Sunderland recorded the first cholera
epidemic in 1831. A grant of £750 was provided by the Government
to buy a £2,000 plot of land from the Mowbray family for a new park.
Work on Mowbray Park – then known as The People's Park – began in the mid-1850s, with a former limestone
quarry being landscaped. Topsoil was placed over the spoil heaps and original footpaths were gravelled over – leading to the hummocks and winding paths of today.
The park was opened by John Candlish
, Lord Mayor MP of Sunderland on 21 May 1857.
On the day of the park's opening on May 12, 1857, shops closed early as thousands of people flocked to attend the ceremony. An extension to Mowbray Park, from the railway cutting to Borough Road, was opened on July 11, 1866.
It was opened in 1857 in response to a demand for more open spaces in the town. The land was purchased from the Mowbray family, and named after them in recognition. The park was extended in 1866 to include a lake
and a terrace, and in 1879 the Winter Gardens, museum and art gallery
were added along the Borough Road side.
The Second World War had an impact on the park. It was hit with numerous German bombs, the iron structures - most notably the Winter Gardens, a cast iron
bridge, and the bandstand
- were taken away to be melted down for weapons, and the open spaces were converted into vegetable patches.
Following the war, the park fell into neglect. The civic centre was built on the west portion of the park. The area became known for anti-social and absuive behaviour, and was considered generally unsafe. In August 1993, over £13,000 worth of damage was caused, and a survey by the Sunderland Echo
showed that locals were too scared to use the park.
Following a public campaign, in 1994 work began on restoring the park to its Victorian glory, funded by a £4 million grant
from the Heritage Lottery Fund
, described as: "The jewel in the crown of the city centre regeneration". The Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens
were rebuilt, the lake was restored, the bandstand was rebuilt, and the park was re-shaped and adorned with numerous statues. A large adventure play area for children was built. The park officially re-opened in 2000.
In the first year following re-opening, the park received over 800,000 visitors, making it the most visited attraction outside of London
.
drinking fountain was constructed by Glenfield and Kennedy of Kilmarnock
and erected in 1878 by the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows. It is a memorial to William Hall, who was the oldest Oddfellow in the North of England when he died, aged 75, in 1876. The domed canopy has eleborate foliage and four cupsed arches on the columns, which shelter the bollard-shaped drinking fountain. Above each arch is an escutcheon
and motto: on the north and south is "Keep the pavement dry" and "Nil desperandum auspice deo 1878" (the motto on the Coat of arms of Sunderland
) with symbols of the Borough of Sunderland and of Oddfellows
.; on the east and west is "Amicitia Amor et Veritas" (the motto of Oddfellows), "In memory of Wm. Hall PPGM of the Sunderland District Independent Order of Oddfellows" and "Presented to the Corporation of Sunderland by the Oddfellows NU". The fountain was repaired and restored with the re-opening of Mowbray Park in 2000.
of 1883 in which 183 children were trampled to death in the Victoria Hall, which overlooked Mowbray Park. The marble statue of a mother holding her dead child was later moved to Bishopwearmouth Cemetery
, but in 2002 it was restored and moved back to the park.
, a celebrated military general born in Bishopwearmouth
. Either side of the statue are cannon
s, named Joshua and Caleb, replicas of those captured from the Russia
ns during the Crimean war
. The originals were melted down for metal during the Second World War.
The over life-sized bronze figue of Havelock in military uniform and a sword in his hand is on a high stepped based and a tall, square, granite plinth and faces toward his birth place. The figure is signed 1861 by Behnes
and the founder's mark on the rear of plinth reads: "The Statue Foundry, Pimlico, London". The inscription on the front of the plinth reads: "Born 5 April 1775 at Ford Hall, Bishopwearmouth. Died 24 November 1857 at Dil Koosha, Lucknow". The statue was repaired and restored with the re-opening of Mowbray Park in 2000.
, born in Sunderland, was honoured for bravery when he climbed the mast of his ship, the HMS Venerable
, during the Battle of Camperdown
to nail the British flag back up. Although he died a pauper (he was also the second victim of the cholera
epidemic in Britain), a memorial statue was erected for him in 1890.
The monument is signed and dated "Percy Wood fecit 1889–90". The life size, bronze figure of Crawford is on a granite plinth set on a mound of magnesian limestone. Crawford is in seaman's dress nailing a flag to the mast, using a pistol butt as hammer. The irregularly-piled pieces of limestone rock support the plinth which has an inscription on its north side: "The sailor who so heroically nailed Admiral Duncan's flag to the main-top-gallant-mast of HMS Venerable in the glorious action off Camperdown on October 11, 1797. Jack Crawford was born at the Pottery Bank, in Sunderland, 1775 and died in his native town in 1831 aged 56 years. Erected by public subscription."
, who was mayor
and later Member of Parliament
for Sunderland
from 1866 to 1874.
The statue is signed and dated "C Bacon Sc London 1875", with the founder's mark "H Young & Co. Art Founders Pimlico". The slightly larger than life size figure shows Candlish in contemporary dress on a square plinth with a moulded stepped base of polished porphyritic
granite. The inscription reads: "John Candlish M.P. Born 1815 Died 1874".
- it is believed Carroll wrote, among other things, the poem The Walrus and the Carpenter
in the town. To commemorate the link, a number of statues are located around the park - most notably a walrus
sculpture by the lake made by the artist Andrew Burton in 1992.
celebrations in the city, focused around a temporary ice rink
.
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, located a few hundred yards from the busy throughfares of Holmeside and Fawcett Street and bordered by Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens
Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens
Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens is a municipal museum in Sunderland, England. It is part of the Tyne and Wear Museums group, and is sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It contains the only known British example of a gliding reptile, the oldest known vertebrate capable of...
to the north, Burdon Road to the west, Toward Road to the east and Park Road to the south.
The park was voted best in Britain in 2008.
History
Mowbray Park is one of the oldest municipal parks in North East EnglandNorth East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
.
The roots of Mowbray Park date back to the 1830s, when a health inspector recommended building a leafy area in the town after Sunderland recorded the first cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
epidemic in 1831. A grant of £750 was provided by the Government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
to buy a £2,000 plot of land from the Mowbray family for a new park.
Work on Mowbray Park – then known as The People's Park – began in the mid-1850s, with a former limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
quarry being landscaped. Topsoil was placed over the spoil heaps and original footpaths were gravelled over – leading to the hummocks and winding paths of today.
The park was opened by John Candlish
John Candlish
John Candlish was a British glass bottle manufacturer and Liberal Party politician.-Early life:Candlish was born in Tarset, Northumberland, the eldest son of John Candlish, a farmer, and his wife, Mary, née Robson...
, Lord Mayor MP of Sunderland on 21 May 1857.
On the day of the park's opening on May 12, 1857, shops closed early as thousands of people flocked to attend the ceremony. An extension to Mowbray Park, from the railway cutting to Borough Road, was opened on July 11, 1866.
It was opened in 1857 in response to a demand for more open spaces in the town. The land was purchased from the Mowbray family, and named after them in recognition. The park was extended in 1866 to include a lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
and a terrace, and in 1879 the Winter Gardens, museum and art gallery
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
were added along the Borough Road side.
The Second World War had an impact on the park. It was hit with numerous German bombs, the iron structures - most notably the Winter Gardens, a cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
bridge, and the bandstand
Bandstand
A bandstand is a circular or semicircular structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts...
- were taken away to be melted down for weapons, and the open spaces were converted into vegetable patches.
Following the war, the park fell into neglect. The civic centre was built on the west portion of the park. The area became known for anti-social and absuive behaviour, and was considered generally unsafe. In August 1993, over £13,000 worth of damage was caused, and a survey by the Sunderland Echo
Sunderland Echo
The Sunderland Echo is an evening newspaper serving the Sunderland, South Tyneside and East Durham areas of North East England. The newspaper was founded by Samuel Storey, Edward Backhouse, Edward Temperley Gourley, Charles Palmer, Richard Ruddock, Thomas Glaholm and Thomas Scott Turnbull in 1873,...
showed that locals were too scared to use the park.
Following a public campaign, in 1994 work began on restoring the park to its Victorian glory, funded by a £4 million grant
Grant (money)
Grants are funds disbursed by one party , often a Government Department, Corporation, Foundation or Trust, to a recipient, often a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business or an individual. In order to receive a grant, some form of "Grant Writing" often referred to as either a proposal...
from the Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
, described as: "The jewel in the crown of the city centre regeneration". The Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens
Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens
Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens is a municipal museum in Sunderland, England. It is part of the Tyne and Wear Museums group, and is sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It contains the only known British example of a gliding reptile, the oldest known vertebrate capable of...
were rebuilt, the lake was restored, the bandstand was rebuilt, and the park was re-shaped and adorned with numerous statues. A large adventure play area for children was built. The park officially re-opened in 2000.
In the first year following re-opening, the park received over 800,000 visitors, making it the most visited attraction outside of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
William Hall Drinking Fountain
The cast ironCast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
drinking fountain was constructed by Glenfield and Kennedy of Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 44,734. It is the second largest town in Ayrshire. The River Irvine runs through its eastern section, and the Kilmarnock Water passes through it, giving rise to the name 'Bank Street'...
and erected in 1878 by the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows. It is a memorial to William Hall, who was the oldest Oddfellow in the North of England when he died, aged 75, in 1876. The domed canopy has eleborate foliage and four cupsed arches on the columns, which shelter the bollard-shaped drinking fountain. Above each arch is an escutcheon
Escutcheon
In heraldry, an escutcheon is a shield which forms the main or focal element in an achievement of arms. The word is used in two related senses....
and motto: on the north and south is "Keep the pavement dry" and "Nil desperandum auspice deo 1878" (the motto on the Coat of arms of Sunderland
Coat of arms of Sunderland
The Sunderland Corporation first assumed a heraldic device in the 19th century. The first grant of arms was made in 1947, and this was not amended in 1967 when additional territory was incorporated into the County Borough of Sunderland....
) with symbols of the Borough of Sunderland and of Oddfellows
Oddfellows
The name Oddfellows refers to a number of friendly societies and fraternal organisations operating in the United Kingdom. It also refers to a number of Lodges with histories dating back to the 18th century. These various organisations were set up to protect and care for their members and...
.; on the east and west is "Amicitia Amor et Veritas" (the motto of Oddfellows), "In memory of Wm. Hall PPGM of the Sunderland District Independent Order of Oddfellows" and "Presented to the Corporation of Sunderland by the Oddfellows NU". The fountain was repaired and restored with the re-opening of Mowbray Park in 2000.
Victoria Hall disaster Memorial
Mowbray Park was the original site of the memorial for the Victoria Hall disasterVictoria Hall disaster
The Victoria Hall disaster, in which 183 children died, occurred in Sunderland, Great Britain on 16 June 1883 at the Victoria Hall, which was a large concert hall on Toward Road facing onto Mowbray Park.-Background:...
of 1883 in which 183 children were trampled to death in the Victoria Hall, which overlooked Mowbray Park. The marble statue of a mother holding her dead child was later moved to Bishopwearmouth Cemetery
Bishopwearmouth Cemetery
Bishopwearmouth Cemetery is a cemetery in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. It lies between Hylton Road and Chester Road .-History:...
, but in 2002 it was restored and moved back to the park.
Statue of Henry Havelock
The Havelock statue, constructed in 1861, is located on Building Hill at the south of the park and commemorates Sir Henry HavelockHenry Havelock
Major-General Sir Henry Havelock, KCB was a British general who is particularly associated with India. He was noted for his recapture of Cawnpore from rebels during Indian Rebellion of 1857.-Early life:...
, a celebrated military general born in Bishopwearmouth
Bishopwearmouth
Bishopwearmouth is an area in Sunderland, North East England.Bishopwearmouth was one of the original three settlements on the banks of the river Wear that merged to form modern Sunderland....
. Either side of the statue are cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s, named Joshua and Caleb, replicas of those captured from the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
ns during the Crimean war
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
. The originals were melted down for metal during the Second World War.
The over life-sized bronze figue of Havelock in military uniform and a sword in his hand is on a high stepped based and a tall, square, granite plinth and faces toward his birth place. The figure is signed 1861 by Behnes
William Behnes
William Behnes was an English sculptor of the early 19th century.Born in London, Behnes was the son of a Hanoverian pianoforte-maker and his English wife. His early life was spent in Dublin where he studied art at the Dublin Academy....
and the founder's mark on the rear of plinth reads: "The Statue Foundry, Pimlico, London". The inscription on the front of the plinth reads: "Born 5 April 1775 at Ford Hall, Bishopwearmouth. Died 24 November 1857 at Dil Koosha, Lucknow". The statue was repaired and restored with the re-opening of Mowbray Park in 2000.
Statue of Jack Crawford
Jack CrawfordJack Crawford (sailor)
Jack Crawford was a sailor of the Royal Navy known as the "Hero of Camperdown."Crawford was born in Thornhill's Bank in the East End of Sunderland. He was a keelman until 1786 when, aged 11 or 12, he joined the crew of the Peggy at South Shields as an apprentice...
, born in Sunderland, was honoured for bravery when he climbed the mast of his ship, the HMS Venerable
HMS Venerable
Four ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Venerable:* The first Venerable, launched in 1784, was a 74-gun third-rate. She was Admiral Adam Duncan's flagship at the Battle of Camperdown and was wrecked in 1804....
, during the Battle of Camperdown
Battle of Camperdown
The Battle of Camperdown was a major naval action fought on 11 October 1797 between a Royal Navy fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and a Dutch Navy fleet under Vice-Admiral Jan de Winter...
to nail the British flag back up. Although he died a pauper (he was also the second victim of the cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
epidemic in Britain), a memorial statue was erected for him in 1890.
The monument is signed and dated "Percy Wood fecit 1889–90". The life size, bronze figure of Crawford is on a granite plinth set on a mound of magnesian limestone. Crawford is in seaman's dress nailing a flag to the mast, using a pistol butt as hammer. The irregularly-piled pieces of limestone rock support the plinth which has an inscription on its north side: "The sailor who so heroically nailed Admiral Duncan's flag to the main-top-gallant-mast of HMS Venerable in the glorious action off Camperdown on October 11, 1797. Jack Crawford was born at the Pottery Bank, in Sunderland, 1775 and died in his native town in 1831 aged 56 years. Erected by public subscription."
Statue of John Candlish
Roughly in the centre of the park, stands a statue of John CandlishJohn Candlish
John Candlish was a British glass bottle manufacturer and Liberal Party politician.-Early life:Candlish was born in Tarset, Northumberland, the eldest son of John Candlish, a farmer, and his wife, Mary, née Robson...
, who was mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
and later Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Sunderland
Sunderland (UK Parliament constituency)
Sunderland was a borough constituency of the House of Commons, created by the Reform Act 1832 for the 1832 general election. It elected two Members of Parliament by the bloc vote system of election until it was split into single-member seats of Sunderland North and Sunderland South for the 1950...
from 1866 to 1874.
The statue is signed and dated "C Bacon Sc London 1875", with the founder's mark "H Young & Co. Art Founders Pimlico". The slightly larger than life size figure shows Candlish in contemporary dress on a square plinth with a moulded stepped base of polished porphyritic
Porphyritic
Porphyritic is an adjective used in geology, specifically for igneous rocks, for a rock that has a distinct difference in the size of the crystals, with at least one group of crystals obviously larger than another group...
granite. The inscription reads: "John Candlish M.P. Born 1815 Died 1874".
Walrus
Sunderland has strong links with author Lewis CarrollLewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
- it is believed Carroll wrote, among other things, the poem The Walrus and the Carpenter
The Walrus and the Carpenter
"The Walrus and the Carpenter" is a narrative poem by Lewis Carroll that appeared in his book Through the Looking-Glass, published in December 1871. The poem is recited in chapter four, by Tweedledum and Tweedledee to Alice. The poem is composed of 18 stanzas and contains 108 lines, in an...
in the town. To commemorate the link, a number of statues are located around the park - most notably a walrus
Walrus
The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...
sculpture by the lake made by the artist Andrew Burton in 1992.
Events
Mowbray Park has become the site of annual christmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
celebrations in the city, focused around a temporary ice rink
Ice rink
An ice rink is a frozen body of water and/or hardened chemicals where people can skate or play winter sports. Besides recreational ice skating, some of its uses include ice hockey, figure skating and curling as well as exhibitions, contests and ice shows...
.