Sefton Park

Sefton Park is a public park in south Liverpool, England. The park is in a district of the same name, located roughly within the historic bounds of the large area of Toxteth Park. Neighbouring districts include modern-day Toxteth, Aigburth, Mossley Hill, Wavertree and St Michael's Hamlet.

The park is in area and is designated by English Heritage at Grade I in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

History

The site of the park was once within the boundaries of the Royal Deer Park of Toxteth which became "disparked" in 1591. The land eventually came under the control of the Earl of Sefton.

As Toxteth rapidly grew, the green fields and woodland of Toxteth Park grew into narrow streets and courts packed by tiny uninhabitable houses where the air was stagnant, there was little or no sanitation and running water consisted of one tap in the middle of the court. At the same time there was demand for large aristocratic mansions in the South of Liverpool. In 1862 the Borough Council Engineer recommended a site for this development. The Public Works (Manufacturing Districts) Act 1864
permitted corporations to borrow sums of money of up to half a million pounds to be repaid over thirty years. This allowed steps to be taken towards the purchase of land for Sefton Park. In 1867 the Council purchased of land for the development of the park for £250,000 from the Earl of Sefton.

Sefton Park is one of the largest in the "ribbon of Parks" originally envisaged in 1850s by the Liverpool Improvement Committee and which came eventually to include Newsham and Stanley Parks. Even though it was recognised by politicians that clean, fresh open spaces were now regarded as necessity there was an outcry from the public that £250,000 was extravagant and wasteful. As with neighbouring Princes Park plots of land on the perimeter were sold for housing which helped in the funding of the layout of the park.

Soon after, a European competition was launched to design a grand park. 29 entries were received and the competition was won by a French landscape architect Édouard André with work on the design also undertaken by Liverpool architect Lewis Hornblower. The park was opened on 20 May 1872 by Prince Arthur who dedicated it "for the health and enjoyment of the townspeople".

The Park design is based on circular, oval and marginal footpaths, framing the green spaces, with two natural watercourses flowing into the man-made lake. Hornblower's designs for the park lodges and entrances were elaborate structures, and included follies, shelters and boathouses. The parkland itself included a deer park and the strong water theme was reflected by the presence of pools, waterfalls and stepping stones. The Park, its exclusive villas and ornamentation reflected the grandeur of the City during its mid Victorian period when Liverpool was the second city of the Empire.

The perimeter road's outer edge is lined with Victorian buildings constructed to around 1890, and Edwardian houses. Additional development of the park continued with the construction of the iron bridge in 1873.

The park had a gallops which led to it being nicknamed "the Hyde Park of the North" but was always referred to by locals as "The Jockey Sands".

A major park improvement programme was undertaken in 1983 prior to the International Garden Festival, and in 2013 Sefton Park was granted the prestigious Green Flag Award for high standards.

Sporting uses

Sefton Park Cricket Club moved their ground to the park in 1876 and W. G. Grace was amongst the three Gloucestershire players who made up a "South of England" team who won there in 1877. The park also has tennis courts, a bowling green, and a popular jogging circuit. It is also used every November to hold the European Cross Country Championships trial races for the British team, and makes up part of the route of various annual road races including the Liverpool Half Marathon, Rock & Roll Marathon and Spring 10k.

Entertainment uses

The park has also been a site for Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's summer pops season, Africa Oyé. Bands have also played at the park in the '80s such as Echo and the Bunnymen.

Restoration

In 2005 the park received provisional approval for a major £5 million Heritage Lottery funded renovation project which involves the refurbishment and improvement of many of the park's features. The work began in June 2007 was expected to be completed in summer 2009. This work was very controversial with some regular users of the park as it included destroying trees and breeding sites of birds. The work led to the formation of the "Friends of Sefton Park" campaigns.

Notable features of the park

Palm House

This is a Grade II* three-tier dome conservatory palm house designed and built by MacKenzie and Moncur of Edinburgh which opened in 1896. Liverpool millionaire Henry Yates Thompson (the great nephew of the founder of Princes Park) gifted £10,000 to the city to fund the construction. It was designed in the tradition of Joseph Paxton's glass houses and was stocked originally with a rich collection of exotic plants.

During the Liverpool Blitz of May 1941 a bomb fell nearby and shattered the glass. It was reglazed in 1950 at a cost of £6,163 with costs covered by War Restoration funds. A period of decline and deterioration culminated in its closure in the 1980s on grounds of safety.

In June 1992, a public meeting was held highlighting the dereliction and calling for restoration. A petition was presented to the City Council by what had become the "Save the Palm House" campaign. A public fund raising campaign was established, with a "sponsor a pane" programme generating over £35,000. This led directly to the conversion of Save the Palm House into a registered charity (Friends of Sefton Park Palm House). Among the supporters of the project were Liverpool jazz singer George Melly and actress Margi Clarke; Melly described it as "the magical palace of my childhood" and "a fairy castle". The Palm House was partially repaired and reopened in 1993. It was fully restored at a cost of £3.5 million with Heritage Lottery and European funding and reopened in September 2001. It is now both a popular visitor attraction offering free and paid-for public entertainment and is venue for hire.

The eight 'corners' of the Palm House are marked by statues by the French sculptor Léon-Joseph Chavalliaud. These include explorers Captain Cook, Christopher Columbus, navigators Gerardus Mercator and Henry the Navigator, botanists and explorers Charles Darwin, Carl Linnaeus and John Parkinson and landscape architect Andre le Notre. Inside the Palm House are two sculptures by Benjamin Edward Spence "Highland Mary" and "The Angel's Whisper".

File:Columbus Statue, Sefton Park, Liverpool (geograph 3147384).jpg , alt=Statue of Christopher Columbus , Christopher Columbus
File:Captain Cook Statue, Sefton Park, Liverpool (geograph 3147390).jpg , alt=Statue of Captain James Cook , Captain James Cook
File:Mercator Statue, Sefton Park, Liverpool (geograph 3147389).jpg , alt=Statue of Gerardus Mercator , Gerardus Mercator
File:Prince Henry The Navigator Statue, Sefton Park, Liverpool (geograph 3147383).jpg , alt=Statue of Henry The Navigator , Henry the Navigator
File:Darwin Statue, Sefton Park, Liverpool (geograph 3147386).jpg , alt=Statue of Charles Darwin , Charles Darwin
File:Linnaeus Statue, Sefton Park, Liverpool (geograph 3147387).jpg , alt=Statue of Carl Linnaeus , Carl Linnaeus
File:John Parkinson Statue, Sefton Park, Liverpool (geograph 3147380).jpg , alt=Statue of John Parkinson , John Parkinson
File:Andre Le Notre Statue, Sefton Park, Liverpool (geograph 3147391).jpg , alt=Statue of Andre le Notre , Andre le Notre

The grounds of the Palm House feature a statue of Peter Pan which was one of the last works by the British sculptor Sir George Frampton. This is Grade II listed and is a replica of a similar statue given as a gift for the visiting public to Kensington Gardens by author J.M. Barrie. The statue was donated to the park by George Audley in 1928 and was unveiled in the presence of Barrie. It originally sat in Sefton Park but was damaged in the 1990s. It was restored at Liverpool's Conservation Centre, and returned to the more secure location of the Palm House's grounds in December 2005.

Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain and Anteros statue

This is Grade II listed and situated in the centre of the Park next to the café and former site of the aviary. The fountain, made from bronze and aluminium, was unveiled in 1932 and is a replica of the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain created by Sir Alfred Gilbert in London's Piccadilly Circus. It was restored in 2008 with a new aluminium Anteros statueLike the original in Piccadilly, the statue is commonly but incorrectly referred to as "Eros".
''Eros statue returns to city park''
BBC
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