Manor Park is an

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...

in the town of

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

. A short walk from the town centre, it has been a public park since 1919. The former manor house located in the park is Grade II

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 ...

.Aldershot Manor House, Manor Park, Aldershot - British Listed Buildings website
/ref> Facilities include a play area, tennis and basketball courts and an all-concrete

skate park A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, qua ...

designed and built by Fearless Ramps and which opened in 2013. Today Manor Park is owned and maintained by

Rushmoor Borough Council Rushmoor is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England. It covers the towns of Aldershot and Farnborough as well as Cove and North Camp. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the borough of Aldershot and the Farnbor ...

. Since 2018 Manor Park has been the venue for the annual Picnic & Pop Music Festival. The festival has been attended by 5000 local people each year.

History

The 63 acre Manor Park was purchased by the Aldershot Urban District Council in 1919. The park is close to the site of the old village of Aldershot with a history dating back to Anglo-Saxon times. On the park's perimeter is the original village green and the old parish church of

St Michael the Archangel ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

.History of Manor Park, Aldershot
/ref> The impressive red-bricked three-storey building Manor House located in the park was built in 1670 and was occupied by the Tichborne family, who had previously occupied an older manor house in

Aldershot Park Aldershot Park is an urban park in the town of Aldershot in Hampshire. The park is located on Guildford Road near Aldershot Cricket Club and the Lido and is owned and maintained by Rushmoor Borough Council.Aldershot Workhouse. After being sold by the Tichbornes the manor house was home to three generations of the Newcome family, starting with Captain George Newcome, Aldershot’s first

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

, who bought the estate in 1847.'Meet the family that once owned Manor Park in Aldershot' - ''Get Hampshire'' website - 5 March 2015
/ref> It was his descendant, Captain Newcome RN, who sold the park and manor house to Aldershot Urban District Council in 1919. For some years the building served as the Register Office for Aldershot; among those who married here was

Violette Szabo Violette Reine Elizabeth Szabo, GC (née Bushell; 26 June 1921 – February 1945) was a British-French Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent during the Second World War and a posthumous recipient of the George Cross. On her second mission i ...

GC who married the

Free French Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

soldier Étienne Szabo at Aldershot Register Office on 21 August 1940 after a whirlwind 42-day romance. Here too, in 1942, the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: * Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

scientist Clifford Dalton married the scientist and author Catherine Graves (daughter of the writer

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celtic ...

). It was made a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in 1963 and is now private offices. Running across the park is a long path bordered by mature trees. Known as The Major’s Walk, it was planted by Major Newcome, one of the last owners of the Manor, with a variety of trees some of which he brought back from his military service abroad. The fenced

duck pond A duck pond is a pond for ducks and other waterfowl. Duck ponds provide habitats for water fowl and other birds, who use the water to bathe in and drink. Typically, such ponds are round, oval or kidney-shaped. An example is the lily pond in th ...

is fed by a natural spring.

Tragedy in the park

Ada Field

Here on August Bank Holiday in 1922 during a crowded Firemen's Fete was murdered Miss Ada Field, aged 29, a bank clerk who for a time had been engaged to William George Warren, aged 23, a clerk in the same bank. They separated, however, and Miss Field then became engaged to Mr Fredrick Reimers. A week before their planned wedding in the nearby parish church the couple were seated in the reserved enclosure in Manor Park when Warren, who was seated behind her, shot Miss Field through the back, the bullet entering her spine and coming out beneath her chin. Warren then shot himself. Ada Field was buried in

Aldershot Cemetery Aldershot Cemetery (officially the Redan Road Cemetery, also known as Aldershot Civic Cemetery) is the main public burial ground for the town of Aldershot in Hampshire. Although most military burials take place in the nearby Aldershot Military C ...

before a crowd of over one thousand mourners.

Baby M

Here also on 19 May 2017 in a case that made national news was found the body of 'Baby M', which had been hidden in bushes and who had been beaten to death within six hours of birth, suffering multiple blunt force injuries to the head with other minor injuries to her body. The baby's body had the umbilical cord and placenta placed on it. A DNA profile taken from the baby showed that both she and her mother and possibly also the child’s father, were of East Asian origin. In January 2018 police released CCTV footage of two people they wished to speak to in relation to the birth and murder of the child. This footage showed a couple walking up and down nearby Ash Road 10 times in an hour on 15 May 2017. The mother gave birth to the baby behind two trees just outside the park near to the spot where its body was found. In March 2020 five people were arrested in the Aldershot area in connection with the murder. In July 2020 23-year old care home worker Babita Rai was charged with the murder of her baby following which she appeared at

Winchester Crown Court The Winchester Law Courts is a judicial facility just off the High Street in Winchester, Hampshire, England. As well as accommodating the Crown Court, which deals with criminal cases, the complex also accommodates the County Court and the Winche ...

. She was remanded in custody to appear at the court in August 2020. Rai had only entered the U.K. from Nepal shortly before the murder. She was six months pregnant on her arrival. In May 2021 Babita Rai was found guilty of

infanticide Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose is the prevention of reso ...

but not guilty of murder. The

Infanticide Act 1938 The Infanticide Act 1938 (1 & 2 Geo 6 c 36) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates the offence of infanticide for England and Wales. Section 1 - Offence of infanticide Sections 1(1) to (3) now read: Amendments The wo ...

defines the offence as an alternative to murder, when a mother kills her baby while the balance of her mind is disturbed as a result of the birth.

Heroes' Shrine

Located in the park is a sunken walled-garden known as the Heroes' Shrine with a large modern statue in

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...

of Christ calming the storm. The statue is carved from a block rejected by Sir

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...

in the building of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

. The statue was carved by Josephina de Vasconcellos to a design by the Borough Surveyor F.W. Taylor. Around the base the inscription reads: “He cometh in righteousness to judge the world with his truth, he rebuked the wind and the sea, he maketh war to cease in all the world”. The memorial was constructed by Messrs. Perryman & Co of Woking at a cost of £3,200, while the inscriptions on the statue and stones were done by Messrs. E. Finch and Sons of High Street, Aldershot. Aldershot's national memorial, this area serves as both a war memorial and a place of remembrance for the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

and the civilians killed in bombing raids across the UK during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, particularly during

The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

. Originally mounds of masonry were located here salvaged from destroyed buildings from 18 cities and 34 boroughs, including

Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The curren ...

and the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

,Manor Park and Play Area
-

website with each stone inscribed with the name of the city or area of London from which it came. Today only a few of these remain, cemented into the ground. The monument was unveiled on the 5th May 1950 by the Duchess of Gloucester. Near this is a rough-hewn stone monument commemorating the dead of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

with the inscription, “Their Name Liveth For Evermore 1914- 1919”. In the 1990s the Heroes’ Shrine was refurbished and the stones re-positioned to the present layout. Josephina de Vasconcellos was still alive so, although then in her 90s, she was able to oversee the restoration of her sculpture. On 8 November 2018 a Peace Garden was opened nearby in the park by

to commemorate the Armistice of 1918 which ended

.Opening of the Rushmoor Peace Garden
-

website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manor Park, Aldershot Urban public parks in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in Aldershot Aldershot Grade II listed buildings in Hampshire World War I memorials in England World War II memorials in England Parks and open spaces in Aldershot Parks and open spaces in Hampshire War memorials in Aldershot