Stevens Park is a park of the

Metropolitan Borough of Dudley The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley is a metropolitan borough of West Midlands, England. It was created in 1974 following the Local Government Act 1972, through a merger of the existing Dudley County Borough with the municipal boroughs of Stourb ...

, in

Quarry Bank Quarry Bank is an area in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England, covered by the Brierley Hill DY5 postal district. Locally, the name is often pronounced, "Quarry Bonk" (in the Black Country dialect). History Originally ...

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

, England.

Description

The park was donated in 1922 by the local industrialist Ernest Stevens to the people of Quarry Bank."Quarry Bank Stevens Park"
''Men & Memorials of Dudley''. The Black Country Society. Retrieved 8 November 2022. The area of the park is about . There are many areas of managed grass, including a football pitch; there are two tennis courts, a children's play area, a skate park, a wildflower area and a bandstand."Stevens Park – Quarry Bank"
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 6 November 2022.

Peace Memorial

The Peace Memorial, within the park, is a memorial to the 148 members of the local community who died in the First World War. Ernest Stevens contributed most of the cost, and he designated it as a Peace Memorial. It was designed by Alfred Long, who had an architectural practice in West Bromwich, and the sculpture was created by

George Edward Wade George Edward Wade (1853, London – 5 February 1933) was a British sculptor. He was largely self-taught as an artist and is best remembered for his statues of royalty and politicians. He was baptised on 17 April 1853 at Westminster, London, E ...

. It was unveiled and dedicated in October 1931 by the Dean of Worcester, William Moore Ede. After the Second World War, the names of 50 men who died were added; the name of a soldier who died in Afghanistan was later added. The monument, a more than life-sized figure of Christ, facing west, stands on a tall pylon of

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 ...

; to the rear is the memorial wall. A low stone wall and railing surrounds the site. The memorial and garden are

Grade II listed 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 ...

Restoration

Dudley Council and Friends of Stevens Park were awarded funding from Parks for People (

National Lottery Heritage 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 ...

and

National Lottery Community Fund The National Lottery Community Fund, legally named the Big Lottery Fund, is a non-departmental public body responsible for distributing funds raised by the National Lottery for "good causes". Since 2004 it has awarded over £9 billion to ...

) towards restoration and development work, which was completed in 2021." Restoration of Stevens Park completes"

Speller Metcalfe Speller Metcalfe is a UK based construction company. The firm was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Malvern, Worcestershire, with locations in Gloucester, Wolverhampton and London. History Speller Metcalfe is a family-owned business, establis ...

, 12 August 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2022. Improvements included restoration of footpaths and the bandstand, and new access to the memorial within the Peace Garden. Tintern House (formerly the White House) was restored and extended to create a community café and meeting room. The Emily Jordan Foundation, a charity working to support people with learning disabilities, will operate from the building, and a range of activities and events will be delivered from the park.

References

{{Reflist Dudley Parks and open spaces in the West Midlands (county)