Weston Park is a public park

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...

 with an area of just over 5 hectares in the City of 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...

, 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...

, England. It lies immediately west of the City Centre

Sheffield City Centre

Sheffield City Centre—often just referred to as town—is a district of the City of Sheffield, and part of the Sheffield Central ward. It includes the area that is within a radius of roughly of Sheffield Cathedral, and is encircled by the Inner Ring Road—a circular route started in the late 1960s...

. It is situated next to the University of Sheffield

University of Sheffield

The University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities...

 Library, Geography and Firth Court

Firth Court

Firth Court is the main administrative centre for the University of Sheffield in Sheffield, England, and also houses the Department for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. It is linked, via the Addison Building to the Alfred Denny Building....

 buildings, and across the road from Sheffield Children's Hospital

Sheffield Children's Hospital

The Sheffield Children's Hospital is part of and the headquarters of the Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust in Broomhill, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England...

. Along with Crookes Valley Park

Crookes Valley Park

Crookes Valley Park is an area of public parkland in the Crookesmoor area of the City of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. The park lies just under two kilometres west of the City centre at...

 and The Ponderosa

Ponderosa (Sheffield)

The Ponderosa is a recreation area within the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Although not a public park it was designated as Open Space by Sheffield City Council in the 1993 Unitary Development Plan. It covers an area of over 10 hectares and is located at , 1.5 km west of the...

 it is one of the three Crookesmoor parks.

History

Weston Park was the first municipal park in the city and was developed from the grounds of Weston Hall, which came into the city's hands when its owner Thomas Harrison

Thomas Harrison

Major-General Thomas Harrison sided with Parliament in the English Civil War. During the Interregnum he was a leader of the Fifth Monarchists...

 died and Sheffield Corporation purchased the Hall and grounds for £15,750. Robert Marnock

Robert Marnock

Robert Marnock was one of the outstanding horticulturalists and garden designers of the 19th century and was considered by his contemporaries to be the best exponent of the gardenesque school of landscape gardening....

 was commissioned to design the park in 1873. New terra cotta

Terra cotta

Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...

 pillared entrances were established at Winter Street and Western Bank using designs by Godfrey Sykes

Godfrey Sykes

Godfrey Sykes was an English designer and painter.After an apprenticeship to the Sheffield engraver James Bell, he trained at the Sheffield School of Art from 1843 and taught there from 1857...

. The original lake from Weston Hall was extended and redesigned and the Ebenezer Elliott

Ebenezer Elliott

Ebenezer Elliott was an English poet, known as the Corn Law rhymer.-Early life:Elliott was born at the New Foundry, Masbrough, in the Parish of Rotherham, Yorkshire. His father, was an extreme Calvinist and a strong Radical, and was engaged in the iron trade...

 memorial statue was moved to the park in 1875 from its original place in Market Place

Castle Square, Sheffield

Castle Square is the plaza at the intersection of High Street, Angel Street, and Arundel Gate in the City of Sheffield, England. This name was given to the square in the 1960s to reflect the proximity of the square to the site of Sheffield Castle, which was formerly located a short distance to the...

. A memorial to Godfrey Sykes was also erected in 1875 during the construction of the park, this consists of an 8 metre high terra cotta column designed by James Gamble, one of Sykes’ pupils. It depicts youth, maturity and old age.

The park was opened to the public on Monday 6 September 1875 with the following days Sheffield Daily Telegraph

Sheffield Telegraph

The Sheffield Telegraph is a weekly newspaper published in Sheffield, England.-History:Founded in 1855 as the Sheffield Daily Telegraph, it was the city's first daily newspaper, published at 08:00 each morning. The newspaper struggled until W. C...

 saying: “The weather was fine. The Park looked in its gayest Summer dress. The walks were freshly graveled, the flower beds were trim and well ordered.” In 1882 the Weston Park Weather station

Weather station

A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for observing atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, wind speed, wind...

 was erected privately by the curator of the adjacent Weston Park Museum, it is the official climatological

Climatology

Climatology is the study of climate, scientifically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of time, and is a branch of the atmospheric sciences...

 station for Sheffield and since 1937 it has been run by the museum’s staff. It is one of the oldest weather stations in the country and all records are freely available via computer database or printed media.

In 1895 the South West gates were erected on Western Bank close to the newly constructed Mappin Art Gallery, this became the parks main entrance and was built primarily so affluent visitors could drive their carriages right up to the gallery‘s door. 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...

 was built around 1900 by the Sheffield architects, Flockton and Gibbs

William Flockton

Flockton's were a series of architectural firms in the 19th and early 20th centuries, based in Sheffield, England. The firms were responsible for a number of significant buildings, particularly in the Sheffield area.-William Flockton:...

, it was made at a foundry in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

 and was one of a pair, the other one being placed in Hillsborough Park

Hillsborough Park

Hillsborough Park is a large parkland area in Hillsborough, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The park was created in 1897 by the Dixon Family, who built Hillsborough Hall. It is now owned by Sheffield City Council and the hall is used as a library....

 and has since been demolished. The bandstand was in use until the mid 1970s with many famous bands playing there including the Black Dyke Band

Black Dyke Band

The Black Dyke Band, formerly the Black Dyke Mills Band, is one of the oldest and best-known brass bands in the world. The band has won many prizes and competitions over the years...

 and the Coldstream Guards Band

Coldstream Guards Band

The Band of the Coldstream Guards is one of the oldest and best known bands in the British Army, having been officially formed on 16 May 1785 under the command of Major C F Eley, reflecting the fact that the Coldstream Guards regiment is the oldest of the guards regiments...

, there were also several rock concerts there. The restored Bandstand is now an approved Civil Wedding venue.

In 1905 the park was visited by King Edward VII

Edward VII of the United Kingdom

Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...

 and Queen Alexandra

Alexandra of Denmark

Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...

 during a visit to Sheffield in which they also opened the nearby University of Sheffield

University of Sheffield

The University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities...

. A war memorial to the York and Lancaster Regiment

York and Lancaster Regiment

-History:It was formed in 1881 through the amalgamation of two other regiments:*65th Regiment*84th RegimentThe title of the regiment was derived not from the cities of York and Lancaster, or from the counties...

 was erected in the park in 1923 to commemorate the 8,814 of the regiment who died in World War One. The monument consists of a figure of Liberty

Liberty (goddess)

Goddesses named for and representing the concept Liberty have existed in many cultures, including classical examples dating from the Roman Empire and some national symbols such as the British "Britannia" or the Irish "Kathleen Ni Houlihan"....

 mounted on a stone stepped-base, with two attendant bronze figures of soldiers. The memorial was made by Sheffield Technical School of Art and cost £12,000, which was raised by public subscription.

Weston Park Restoration Project

In March 2006 it was announced that 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...

was awarding over £2,000,000 to help with the restoration of Weston Park. The work took two years to complete and consisted of the following work:

• Resurfacing all paths and replacing modern railings and gates with more appropriate designs.
• Refurbishing all seven of the Grade ll listed monuments and memorials, which powerfully commemorate the valor and craftsmanship of the people of Sheffield and their efforts to promote social reform.
• Recreating the original vision for the lake as a striking reflective sheet of water crossed by two beautiful wooden bridges, using the original 1874 Marnock designs discovered in the city archives.
• Restoring the bandstand, which is a nationally rare example of a fully glazed structure, to create a unique cultural venue and outdoor classroom.
• Replacing the stolen south east gates, the theft of which in 1995 came to symbolise the lowest point in the fortunes of the park.
• Planting new trees and shrubs in Marnocks style to increase the all year round interest and sensory value.
• Installing new benches and creating quiet, sheltered seating areas.
• Remodeling and refurbishing two of the existing tennis courts.
• Providing improved facilities for the park staff.
• Installing lighting and CCTV along one of the principal routes through the park.
• Improving access to ensure all areas of the park are wheelchair accessible.
• Installing new signage and interpretation boards.
• Developing a range of activities and events to encourage new users from across the city and beyond.

The park was formally reopened on Sunday 1 June 2008 by the Lord Mayor of Sheffield.