Gosforth Central Park is a small public park in

Gosforth Gosforth is a suburb of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It constituted a separate Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland), urban district from 1895 until 1974 before officially merging with the city of New ...

, north of

Newcastle City Centre Newcastle City Centre is the city centre district of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the historical heart of the city and serves as the main cultural and commercial centre of the North East England region. The city centre forms the core of ...

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcastl ...

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 b ...

History

The park was opened by Councillor C. Mossop, Chairman of Gosforth Urban District Council on 6 August 1932, and is about in extent. It cost more than £10,000 and included a

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an orname ...

bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on ...

, and

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be u ...

s. The south bowling green was opened by Mrs Blenkinsop, wife of the Chairman of Gosforth UDC, on 15 June 1934 and the bowling club was formed on 17 July 1934. 1 May 1937 saw the introduction of play area facilities. The park was originally within

Gosforth Urban District Gosforth was a local government district in Northumberland from 1872 to 1974. On 20 September 1872, a Local Board was formed for the civil parishes of South Gosforth and Coxlodge, known as the South Gosforth Local Board. Under the local Gove ...

but is now in the East Gosforth Ward of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Memorials

The main memorial in the park is the War Memorial. The Memorial was moved from the north edge of the park to its current central location, on the site of the former bandstand. It is an octagonal column about high, and was unveiled on 28 January 1925 by the Duke of Northumberland. In April 2016 the original brick plinth was resurfaced with red sandstone. Gosforth-central-park-war-memorial

Voluntary organisations

Gosforth Central Park User Group

The Gosforth Central Park User Group was set up to support the Local Authority in the day-to-day management and longer-term development of the Park. The inaugural meeting took place 16 February 1993 at the suggestion of a local resident. The group is now (2013) defunct.

The Friends of Gosforth Central Park

The Friends of Gosforth Central Park was formed in 2013 for the encouragement of local participation in the promotion, management, maintenance and improvement of the Park and its facilities, including environmental conservation and education. The group has been supported by local businesses.

References

External links

* {{Official website
Images of the park
at Newcastle Photos blog

at The Tyne and Beyond blog
Friends of Gosforth Central Park
on Facebook Parks and open spaces in Newcastle upon Tyne