Grosvenor Park, Chester on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The land, which formerly consisted of fields, was given to the city by
Storyhouse
(formerly Chester Performs), is the only full-time professional theatre company outside London and first opened in 2010. ''
Grosvenor Park is a public park in the city of
to Grade II*.
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
, Cheshire, England (). It consists of of land overlooking the River Dee. It is regarded as one of the finest and most complete examples of Victorian parks in the North West of England
North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of 7,4 ...
, if not nationally. On 22 August 2013 the designation of the park was raised from Grade II in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England
{{R from move ...
{{R from move ...History
The land, which formerly consisted of fields, was given to the city by Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster
Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster (27 January 1795 – 31 October 1869), styled The Honourable Richard Grosvenor from 1795 to 1802, Viscount Belgrave from 1802 to 1831 and Earl Grosvenor from 1831 to 1845, was an English polit ...
. The Marquess also paid for the design of the park by Edward Kemp. It was laid out in 1865–66 and opened with great celebration in November 1867 although the Marquess was not able to attend. Grosvenor Park has recently undergone a £3.6 million restoration as part of the 'Parks for People'
programme. The park received a £2.4 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund
The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom.
History
The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
, with additional funding from WREN and Cheshire West and Chester Council.
The programme aimed to repair and restore some of the original features. A new building named the Activity Zone was built to serve local community activities and the Lodge was refurbished and converted for use as a cafe.
The park was reopened in July 2014 by Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster and descendant of the original benefactor.
Grosvenor Park Lodge
Designed by local architect John Douglas, this was originally the park keeper's lodge. The building has been designated byHistoric 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 Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...
as a Grade II listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
. For a time it housed the city council's parks & gardens office. After the 2014 refurbishment of the park, it reopened as The Lodge Cafe.
The lodge, together with some of the other structures in the park, are among Douglas's first recorded commissions by the Grosvenor family, and the first known example of his use of black-and-white architecture. The lodge is in two storeys, the lower storey being built in red sandstone
Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
and the upper storey being timber-framed
Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...
with plaster panels. The roofs are of red-brown tiles. On the upper storey are eight carvings which represent William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
and the seven Norman Earls of Chester
The Earldom of Chester () was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne ...
.
Contents
In addition to ornamental flower beds, grassed areas, trees and footpaths, the park contains a number of other features. Before the park was established there was in one of the fields a well, Billy Hobby's Well, which was reputed to have magical properties. John Douglas designed acanopy
Canopy may refer to:
Plants
* Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests)
* Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes
Religion and ceremonies
* Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...
to stand over the site of the well. The canopy is listed at Grade II. Money was raised by public subscription to erect a statue to the 2nd Marquess in 1859. The statue is in white marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
and was made by Thomas Thornycroft. The statue was originally surrounded by four guns, two being Boer
Boers ( ; ; ) are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled the Dutch ...
guns which were captured in the Boer War
The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...
and the other two were Russian guns which had been captured at Sebastopol in the Crimean War
The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
. The guns are no longer present. The statue is listed at Grade II.
In the park are three medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
arches moved from elsewhere in the city, both of which are listed at Grade II. St Mary's Arch with its wing walls dates from around the 13th century and formerly stood in St Mary's Benedictine Nunnery. The Old Shipgate Arch formerly stood to the west of the Bridgegate and was taken down in 1831. The third archway was removed from St Michael's Church. Also in the park and listed at Grade II is Jacob's Well Drinking Fountain consisting of a small stone arch with a drinking fountain for people and a dish for their pets, which is now dry. During the laying out of the park a long line of Roman earthenware water pipes was discovered close to the lodge which used to bring fresh water from Boughton to the Roman fortress. In the 1950s a rockery was constructed on the southern edge of the park with waterfalls, streams and fountains. The main gates of the park, together with other gate piers and sections of the park walls, all designed by John Douglas, are listed at Grade II.
Activities
A number of cultural and horticultural events, including events in the Summer Music Festival, are held in the park. Also in the park is the Grosvenor ParkMiniature Railway
A ridable miniature railway (US: riding railroad or grand scale railroad) is a large scale, usually ground-level railway that hauls passengers using locomotives that are often models of full-sized railway locomotives (powered by Diesel engine, ...
which was built in 1996 to commemorate the centenary of the Duke of Westminster
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ...
's railway at Eaton Hall. It has a gauge of and a circuit of .
Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre
During the summer months (July–August) the park hosts theGrosvenor Park Open Air Theatre
Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre holds an eight week annual repertory season in Chester, United Kingdom. The productions are staged in the round, in a purpose built theatre constructed each summer in Grosvenor Park.The first stage was built in 2 ...
, a purpose-built outdoor theatre that has been described as a 'Northern alternative to The Globe and Regent's Park'. The theatre, operated by local arts produceStoryhouse
(formerly Chester Performs), is the only full-time professional theatre company outside London and first opened in 2010. ''
The Stage
''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. Founded in 1880, ''The Stage'' contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at thos ...
'' described the 2013 production as 'what good alfresco summer theatre is all about'.
See also
* List of parks and open spaces in CheshireReferences
{{Coord, 53.19052, -2.88149, type:landmark_region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SJ412663), display=title Parks and open spaces in Cheshire Chester Grade II listed buildings in Chester Grade II* listed parks and gardens in Cheshire