Peel Park, Salford
Encyclopedia
Urban park
An urban park, is also known as a municipal park or a public park, public open space or municipal gardens , is a park in cities and other incorporated places to offer recreation and green space to residents of, and visitors to, the municipality...
in Salford, Greater Manchester, England located on the flood plain of the River Irwell
River Irwell
The River Irwell is a long river which flows through the Irwell Valley in the counties of Lancashire and Greater Manchester in North West England. The river's source is at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup, in the parish of Cliviger, Lancashire...
below Salford Crescent and adjacent to the University of Salford
University of Salford
The University of Salford is a campus university based in Salford, Greater Manchester, England with approximately 20,000 registered students. The main campus is about west of Manchester city centre, on the A6, opposite the former home of the physicist, James Prescott Joule and the Working Class...
. It was the first of three public parks to be opened on 22 August 1846, for the people of Manchester and Salford, paid for by public subscription.
History
Enclosure
Enclosure or inclosure is the process which ends traditional rights such as mowing meadows for hay, or grazing livestock on common land. Once enclosed, these uses of the land become restricted to the owner, and it ceases to be common land. In England and Wales the term is also used for the...
and thought that public walks and gardens were the solution. Richard Walker
Richard Walker (MP)
Richard Walker was an English Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1832 to 1852.Walker was born at Bury the eldest son of William Walker and his wife Mary Ormerod...
, the MP
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 Bury
Bury (UK Parliament constituency)
Bury was a borough constituency centred on the town of Bury in Lancashire. It returned one Member of Parliament ) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
had spoken in Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
about the lack of areas for recreation in his home town and in 1833 the Select Committee on Public Walks was set up to look at the problem. The committee noted that, owing to urban development and rising property values during the previous fifty years, "many inclosures of open spaces in the vicinity of Towns had taken place, and little or no provision had been made for Public Walks or Open Spaces, fitted to afford means of exercise or amusement to the middle or humbler classes". They gathered witnesses from dozen or so of the large manufacturing towns to try to establish remedies. One of their conclusions was that "having a place to which they (the humbler classes) might resort on a Sunday Evening would tend to promote that self-respect which is so advantageous to all classes". Although there were a number of parks in the UK, most of them were royal parks or privately owned estates, and the landowners could exclude those they didn't approve of, as is illustrated by the following letter published in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
on 10 July 1846:
TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.
Sir, I wish. that you would let your readers understand that Hyde park and St. James's Park are not public parks. Victoria park and the suburban parks are intended for the public — the former parks for the aristocracy. St. James's park has for some time been very exclusive, and now Hyde-park imitates its neighbor. Last Wednesday every decently dressed mechanic was turned out of Hyde-park. The warden in green said this was in accordance, with new orders received from the Ranger. It strikes me that these very green, underlings are acting in a way, whether with or without authority, most conducive to encourage revolutionary Principles, and I expect some day to hear of their getting a good ducking in the Serpentine. What is the use of this excessive exclusiveness with regard to parks which used to be considered public?, It is enough to make any person's blood boil to see a well-dressed mechanic refused admission into a park considered public. I wish, Sir, you would either enlighten me on the subject or attempt some improvement of the aristocratic notions of the men in green. Their behaviour proves that no one is so exclusive as one of the lower classes when placed in authority.
I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, C. D. Hyde-park-square, July 9.
The most prominent supporters of the campaign in the north of England were Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
MP for Manchester Mark Philips, and the then Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
, Sir Robert Peel. Large sums of money were contributed to the fund by both these men and also by the local workers. In a letter to the Manchester Guardian, published in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
on October 31, 1844, the writer said;
scarcely a week passes without bringing its own new and striking testimony to the deep interest felt in the Promotion of this great object by all classes of the community. From the Premier of England to the humblest operative ... We have already mentioned several instances in the course of the subscription which show that the clerks salesmen, warehousemen, and even the packers and porters in the warehouses are as heartily disposed to promote the success of this object as any other class of the community; and they have proved themselves as liberal, in proportion to their means, as their employers themselves. We are tempted, even in anticipation of the usual weekly advertisement of the sums received since the amount last advertised, to mention the most recent instance of this class which has contributed to swell the aggregate amount of the fund by no inconsiderable sum. We have already noticed the handsome contributions of Mr. Mark Philips and of Sir George Philips, and we have now the pleasure to record the subscription of the clerks, salesmen, warehousemen, and porters, in the warehouse of the firm of which our excellent representative is a member — Messrs. J. and W. Philips and Co., Church-street. Including all classes of employees youths, porters, &c., we find that 90 individuals in this establishment have contributed the very large and liberal amount of £221. 2s. in aid of the fund for public parks. - Manchester Guardian
After seven years of campaigning, Manchester set up the Committee for Public Walks, Gardens & Playgrounds, and a design competition was held for the three parks — Queen's Park and Philips Park, in Manchester, and Peel Park in Salford. Each park was required to have playgrounds, including provision for archery and quoits, together with skittle and ball alleys, a refreshment room, one or more fountains, and retiring places The competition was won by Joshua Major
Joshua Major
Joshua Major was an English landscape gardener and designer, born on 28 August 1786 in Owston, near Doncaster in South Yorkshire. 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...
and Son of Knowsthorp, near Leeds, and the parks were laid out under Major's supervision in 1845-6, by the company of Pim and Richardson, Nurseymen, of Higher Ardwick.
The three parks were all opened, with great ceremony, on 22 August 1846, Peel Park on the Lark Hill Estate being the first to be opened "for the enjoyment and recreation of the public" followed by Queen's Park in Harpurhey and Philips Park in Bradford, Manchester. Peel Park, named in honour of Sir Robert Peel, is now said to be possibly the world's first Public Park, although it may not even be the first public park in England as Derby Arboretum
Derby Arboretum
Derby Arboretum is a public arboretum and park in the city of Derby in England. It was the first publicly owned, landscaped, urban, recreational park in England. It is located in the Rose Hill area, about a mile south of Derby city centre. After many years of neglect, the Arboretum has recently...
, which was given to Derby Town Council on 16 September 1840, claims this title.
Salford Museum and Art Gallery
Salford Museum and Art Gallery
Salford Museum and Art Gallery, in Peel Park, Salford, Greater Manchester, first opened to the public in November 1850 as the "Royal Museum & Public Library". One of the most important appreciation is that it serves as the first public library in the UK to provide free access to people...
, which was built to replace the Lark Hill mansion on the higher ground overlooking the park, first opened in November 1850 as the "Royal Museum & Public Library". The library is said to be the first unconditionally free public library in England.
Matthew Noble
Matthew Noble was a British sculptor.-Life:Noble was born in Hackness, near Scarborough, as the son of a stonemason, and served his apprenticeship under his father. He left Yorkshire for London when quite young, there he studied under John Francis...
. The collection included depictions of Queen Victoria, Albert, Prince Consort, Joseph Brotherton
Joseph Brotherton
Joseph Brotherton was a reforming British politician, non-conformist minister and pioneering vegetarian.He was born in Whittington, near Chesterfield, Derbyshire, and was the son of John Brotherton, an excise collector, and his wife Mary...
MP and Richard Cobden
Richard Cobden
Richard Cobden was a British manufacturer and Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with John Bright in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League as well as with the Cobden-Chevalier Treaty...
. The statue of Queen Victoria (pictured) was erected in front of the Salford Museum and Art Gallery in 1857, to commemorate the royal visit of 1851 to Manchester and Salford
Royal Visits to Manchester and Salford During the Reign of Queen Victoria
Royal visits to Manchester and the surrounding areas in the nineteenth century signify important achievements in the city’s history and offer an insight into the development of the area during this period...
, when she was welcomed by a crowd of eighty thousand people in the park. The commemorative statue of the Prince Consort was erected after his death in 1861.
In November 1866 the River Irwell burst its banks, flooding much of Lower Broughton
Broughton, Greater Manchester
Broughton is an inner city area of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the east bank of the River Irwell and A56 road, in the northeastern part of the City of Salford, north-northwest of Manchester city centre and south of Prestwich. Broughton consists of Broughton Park, Higher...
. The flood was said to be "more extensive and devastating in its effects than perhaps any that has occurred in this locality within the memory of living man". Three men were drowned and many others, including the keeper of the park, had to be rescued from the upper stories of their homes. As part of a general renovation of the park a granite flood obelisk was erected in 1867 with a flood marker on two faces showing the height of 8 feet 6 inches, reached by the water on 16 November 1866.
The artist L.S. Lowry studied art at the Salford Royal Technical College in the Peel Building, overlooking the park, in the 1920s. A number of his works feature views of the park including; five sketches (Peel Park Sketches 1-5), two pencil drawings named Bandstand, Peel Park, Salford (1924 & 1925), Over the Terrace, Peel Park(1927) and two paintings named Peel Park, Salford. (1927 & 1930) The Salford Museum and Art Gallery built up a major collection of his works from 1930, and housed them until August 2000 when they were moved to the The Lowry
The Lowry
The Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex situated on Pier 8 at Salford Quays, in Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early-20th century painter, L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England...
at Salford Quays.
In 1954 the statues of Robert Peel, Richard Cobden and Joseph Brotherton were dismantled and put into storage, to make way for an extension of Salford Technical College (now the University of Salford
University of Salford
The University of Salford is a campus university based in Salford, Greater Manchester, England with approximately 20,000 registered students. The main campus is about west of Manchester city centre, on the A6, opposite the former home of the physicist, James Prescott Joule and the Working Class...
). In 1969 the Peel and Brotherton statues were sold to Christopher Richards of Gawsworth Hall, Macclesfield and placed in the grounds of the hall where the Peel statue still stands. The Brotherton statue was bought by Manchester Council fifteen years later and now stands on the newly created Riverside Walk, close to Albert Bridge looking across the River Irwell towards Salford. The whereabouts of the Cobden statue is unknown. The only statues remaining in the park today are the two depicting Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort.
A report to Salford City Council on 21 May 2008 recommended that Peel Park and the adjacent David Lewis
David Lewis (English merchant)
David Lewis , was an English merchant and philanthropist of Jewish origin.He was born in London. Settling in Liverpool in 1840, he had by 1856 accumulated enough capital to start his own business as a boys' clothier in Bold street...
Recreation Ground be included in The Crescent Conservation Area:
REPORT OF THE LEAD MEMBER FOR PLANNING
TO COUNCIL ON 21st MAY 2008
Boundary changes are recommended for The Crescent. These consist of:
• The inclusion of Peel Park and David Lewis Recreation Ground. The park was opened in 1846 as one of a pioneering Manchester/Salford initiative of three public parks. These were the first to be established in a major industrial city. Linked with the establishment of one of the earliest public local museums in the country and the very first free public library in 1850, Peel Park formed a crucial part of landmark social reform in the Victorian period and was intrinsic to the development of The Crescent area. Peel Park was extended in phases through the late 19th and early 20th century to include the open space now known as the David Lewis Recreation Ground. The proposed boundary change reflects the historical boundary of the early 20th century.
Facilities
The park today includes the David Lewis Sports Ground and has the following facilities available:- Football pitches
- Equipped play area for 4-14 year olds
Features
- Floral features
- Carpet bedding
- Two modern sculptures which are part of the Irwell Sculpture TrailIrwell Sculpture TrailThe Irwell Sculpture Trail is the largest public art scheme in England, commissioning regional, national and international artists. The Trail includes 28 art pieces and follows a well established footpath stretching from Salford Quays through Bury into Rossendale and up to the Pennines above...
- "The Fabric of Nature" by Julia Hilton and "Monument to the Third Millenium" by Adrian Moakes - Marie CurieMarie CurieMarie Skłodowska-Curie was a physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes—in physics and chemistry...
Field of Hope - Flood obelisk (1866)