Campbell Park is the name of the central park for

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

(England) and of a ward of

Central Milton Keynes Central Milton Keynes is the central business district of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and a civil parish in its own right, with a town council. The district is approximately long by wide and occupies some of the highest land in Mi ...

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

. (The nearby

Campbell Park (civil parish) Campbell Park is a civil parish in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The parish is bounded by Childs Way (H6) to the north, the River Ouzel to the east, the A5 to the west, and Chaffron Way to the south. The parish includes the , , , , , ...

previously included the park but no longer does so. It did not change its name after the park district was transferred to CMK Town Council). The park is

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

(grade 2) "due to its historic interest and innovative architectural design".

The Park

The park, part of Central Milton Keynes civil parish (rather than Campbell Park CP), takes up the larger part of the district. It was named in honour of the first chairman of Milton Keynes Development Corporation,

Jock Campbell, Baron Campbell of Eskan John Middleton Campbell, Baron Campbell of Eskan (8 August 1912 – 26 December 1994), known familiarly as "Jock", was the Chairman of Booker Brothers, McConnell and Co (Later Booker-McConnell) in British Guiana (now Guyana) between 1952 and 1967. ...

. It is accessed from the main retail/service/entertainment district by a footbridge over the Marlborough Street (B4146, V8) cutting, at the end of Midsummer Boulevard. From here, the park slopes downwards to the

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter ...

. A junction between the Grand Union and a new Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway is proposed for this area. The park is

(grade 2) by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

, and had previously attracted praise in the

Pevsner Architectural Guides The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of Great Britain and Ireland. Begun in the 1940s by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the original Buildings of England series were published ...

Milton Keynes Rose

The Rose, at the west end of the park and nearest to the MK's central business district, "is a public space designed for commemoration, celebration and contemplation". As well as a central

Cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

, the installation includes markers for a wide variety of historical events. When

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 her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

died in September 2022, the MK Rose was used by locals as a place to lay floral tributes.

Belvedere and Pyramid of Light

Leading east from the ''Rose'', the Belvedere is level path leading to ''Pyramid of Light'', a sculpture. The ground on either side falls away so that most of the path is on an increasingly elevated embankment. The ''Pyramid of Light'' also serves as a beacon and was most recently lit during the 2022

Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration in 2022 marking the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952, the first British monarch to ever celebrate one. In the United Kingdom, th ...

Events plateau and amphitheatre

These spaces are used for community events and biennially for '' IF: Milton Keynes'', the Milton Keynes International Festival. This area is also known for hosting Milton Keynes-based events such as India Day and the African Diaspora Foundation Festival. The amphitheatre has also hosted concerts featuring acts such as Steps, Paloma Faith, and

Will Young William Robert Young (born 20 January 1979) is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the ITV talent contest '' Pop Idol'', making him the first winner of the worldwide '' Idol ...

Cricket ground

Campbell Park Cricket Ground Campbell Park is a cricket ground in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, located in Campbell Park. The first recorded match on the ground in 1981, when the Northamptonshire Second XI played the Leicestershire Second XI in the Second Eleven Champio ...

and its

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

lie at the east end of the park, near the Grand Union Canal.

Parks Trust headquarters

The

Milton Keynes Parks Trust The Parks Trust (originally, the Milton Keynes Parks Trust) is a British registered charity formed in 1992 by Milton Keynes Development Corporation to take over the public parks in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. It was given a £20 million endow ...

has its headquarters building at the eastern end of the park, near the cricket ground.

References

{{reflist

External links

Campbell Park
by The Parks Trust (includes link to highlights video) Parks and open spaces in the Borough of Milton Keynes