Palmer Park is a

public 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 r ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spell ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The land for the park was given to the town by the proprietors of the

Huntley & Palmers Huntley & Palmers is a British company of biscuit makers originally based in Reading, Berkshire. Formed by Joseph Huntley in 1822, the company became one of the world's first global brands (chiefly led by George Palmer who joined in 1841) and r ...

biscuit firm and it contains a

statue of George Palmer The statue of George Palmer stands in Palmer Park, in Reading, Berkshire. The statue, by George Blackall Simonds, was unveiled in 1891, though it was originally in Broad Street and only later moved to Palmer Park. The statue has been classed ...

. The park in turn gives its name to

Park ward Park Ward was a British coachbuilder founded in 1919 which operated from Willesden in North London. In the 1930s, backed by Rolls-Royce Limited, it made technical advances which enabled the building of all-steel bodies to Rolls-Royce's high st ...

of the Borough of Reading, which surrounds it. In 1882, the land was used for that year's

Royal Agricultural Show The Royal Show, also known as the Royal Agricultural Show, was an annual agricultural show/ fair held by the Royal Agricultural Society of England every year from 1839 to 2009. The event encompassed all aspects of farming, food and rural life ...

, on one of its two visits to the town. In 1889, the initial of land was transferred to the town by the proprietors of Huntley & Palmers. It was extended to 49 acres in 1891, and the full park was opened on 4 November 1891. The park and pavilion were designed by architect, William Ravenscroft. Popular with local residents for various activities, it often hosts religious festivals, sports tournaments and small special events. In the past,

Carter's Steam Fair Carters Steam Fair (no apostrophe is used in the name) was a travelling vintage fair. Founded in 1977 by John Carter (1942–2000), this family business is now managed by the second generation of Carters. Carters operated and maintained a large ...

visited the park every year. However, they had to suspend the annual event due to the discovery of ground subsidence in the park in 2001. Chalk mines were found underneath the park and the weight of the fairground rides posed a great danger. The areas affected have now been shored up and compacted to stop any incident from occurring and the Fair is visiting again.

Park facilities

The park also contains

Palmer Park Stadium Palmer Park Stadium is located in Palmer Park, Reading. It contains a velodrome and athletics stadium. Set in acres of parkland, the stadium provides a focal point for a variety of indoor and outdoor leisure activities. Clubs Palmer Park has ...

, a

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...

and

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

. Included in the park are Palmer Park Library, Palmer Park Bowling Club, two playgrounds, a community cafeChalkboard Cafe impresses Reading MP

Rob Wilson Robert Owen Biggs Wilson (born 4 January 1965) is an English politician and political author. He was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for the Reading East parliamentary constituency in the 2005 general election, being re-elected in ...

. and a number of football pitches which are used every week for local matches. During the summer months, some of the goal posts are removed to make way for a cricket pitch.

References

External links

Palmer Park Sports Stadium
p 1889 establishments in the United Kingdom Parks and open spaces in Reading, Berkshire {{Berkshire-geo-stub