Brooke Park is a 3.88 acre (1.57 ha) Victorian park in the centre of

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The park contains many amenities, including a

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

, children's playground and football pitch, as well as a statue of Sir Robert Ferguson. After a period of decline and disrepair, the park was part of a £5.6 million restoration project and reopened in 2017.

History

The history of the park dates back to the opening of the Gwyn's Institute, an orphanage, in 1840. The institute was made possible by John Gwyn, a local linen merchant, who bequeathed £40,000 (over £4.5 million in 2021) in his will to the establishment of an orphanage. The grounds of the orphanage included formal grass terraces, a pond, rose garden, shrubberies and boundary planting, a kitchen garden and orchards. By the end of the 19th century most of the children cared for at the orphanage were in boarding schools and so the institute closed. At that point the grounds were acquired to fulfil another philanthropist's will. James Hood Brooke died in 1865, and in his will bequeathed £9,100 (over £1 million in 2021) to the establishment of a park that would be maintained in perpetuity for the citizens of Derry. When his sister died in 1897 the trustees of his will moved to establish Brooke Park. With some funding from the Irish Society, Brooke Park was opened in 1901. The park became a well-loved portion of the city centre and acquired the nickname ‘the people’s park’ as a result. The park was the site of several royal visits. In 1903

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

visited the park along with his wife, Queen Alexandria, and took part in a tree planting ceremony. In 1945

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

also paid a visit to the park and planted trees using the shame shovel that his grandfather had used in 1903. In 1953 the newly crowned

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

also visited the park. Following the onset of the Troubles in the late 1960s the park entered a period of decline. The army moved in and the park was largely closed to the public and the Gwyn building was the frequent target of the IRA. Eventually the building was gutted as a result of firebombing in 1973 and eventually demolished in 1986. After 2000 the

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

began working on regenerating the park. This resulted in several phases of regeneration with funding coming from a number of benefactors, including the Heritage Lottery Fund.

References

Parks in Northern Ireland Parks in County Londonderry Derry (city) {{NorthernIreland-stub