The Carrs Park is a park in

Wilmslow Wilmslow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England, south of Manchester city centre. The population was 24,497 at the 2011 Census. History Toponymy Wilmslow derives its name from Old ...

, Cheshire, England. The park was gifted to the town by Henry Boddington and follows the path of the

River Bollin The River Bollin is a major tributary of the River Mersey in the north-west of England. It rises in Macclesfield Forest at the western end of the Peak District, and can be seen in spring form, from the Buxton to Macclesfield road. The stream t ...

History

The word 'Carrs' comes from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

word 'Kjarr' meaning 'meadow recovered from bog' and indicates the original state and subsequent use of the area. Most of the land upon which the park lies was owned by Lord Stamford and part of the

Pownall Hall Pownall Hall is a former country house in Wilmslow, Cheshire, England. It was remodelled in 1830 as "a red sandstone Georgian house dressed up in the Tudor style". In 1886 it was bought by the Manchester brewer Henry Boddington, who transform ...

estate until being sold during the period 1841 to 1859. In 1800 a

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven b ...

was built on the site using the River Bollin for power, by 1828 it was being used to spin and weave

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...

and in 1903 it was being used as a laundry, it burned down in 1928 and little remains of the building. The park began to take shape in 1925 when Henry Boddington who created

Boddingtons Brewery Boddingtons Brewery was a regional brewery in Manchester, England, which owned pubs throughout the North West. Boddingtons was best known for Boddingtons Bitter (Boddies), a straw-golden, hoppy bitter which was one of the first beers to be ...

and resident at

gave playing fields to the public, this is commemorated on a stone arch at Chancel Lane. In 1935 Wilmslow Urban District Council bought the land adjacent and established The Carrs Park. The park follows the

which meanders to

Quarry Bank Mill Quarry Bank Mill (also known as Styal Mill) in Styal, Cheshire, England, is one of the best preserved textile factories of the Industrial Revolution. Built in 1784, the cotton mill is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a ...

and then to Styal Country Park. Quarry Bank was originally a working mill that took power from the River Bollin and is now owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

and a tourist attraction.

Facilities

There is a children's play area, multi-use football area, basketball, skateboard ramp, riverside and woodland walks, open grassland and picnicking. Wilmslow

Parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...

takes place in the park, as does the Wilmslow Junior Parkrun. The area covered is 28.7 hectares (71 acres).

References

Parks and open spaces in Cheshire Urban public parks Wilmslow {{Cheshire-geo-stub

History

Facilities

See also

References