Albert Park is an open access, free public park, located in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

, in the

borough of Middlesbrough The Borough of Middlesbrough is a district in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It is part of the Tees Valley region, along with the boroughs of Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar and Cleveland, Hartlepool and Darlington. The district ...

and the ceremonial county of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The park has been granted the

Green Flag Award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...

by the Civic Trust. Albert Park 2011

History

The town's first

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

and MP,

Henry Bolckow Henry William Ferdinand Bolckow, originally Heinrich Wilhelm Ferdinand Bölckow, (8 December 1806 – 18 June 1878) was a Victorian industrialist and Member of Parliament, acknowledged as being one of the founders of modern Middlesbrough. In a ...

, first proposed the idea of a public park for the residents of Middlesbrough, dubbed the 'People's Park' in its conception. Bolckow was particularly conscious of the need to provide a "green lung" to ease the plight of the burgeoning industrial population of a town which was granted its charter of incorporation in 1853. In 1864, Bolckow bought land off Linthorpe Road and presented it to Middlesbrough Borough Council for use as a public park. An agreement drawn up between Bolckow and the Council in 1865 specified that the park be called Albert Park and that £3,000 be spent on laying it out. Work commenced in 1865 to a design by William Barratt, using trees and shrubs from his nursery in Wakefield. The park was completed at a cost of £30,000. Albert Park was officially opened by Prince Arthur of Connaught later Duke of Connaught (seventh child of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

) on 11 August 1868, the park being named after his father

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

. Less than ten years after the park was opened, Middlesbrough Football Club was formed by players of Middlesbrough Cricket Club. For two years it was the club's first ground, the football club's exit was due to damage to parts of the Park by players and supporters. Albert Park bandstand

Albert Park underwent a major refurbishment, completed in 2005 with the support of a £3.5 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund topped up by money from Middlesbrough Council and Northumbrian Water Environmental Trust. Features such as the tower clock, war memorial walls, bandstand, fountain, South African war memorial, sundial and West Lodge were restored. The bandstand was a reproduction of the original park bandstand. A new visitor centre was created and there was considerable improvement to the lake. New facilities such as boathouse, roller rink, and teenage play area were built.

Landmarks

On 16 May 2007, a statue was unveiled at the park which depicts

Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Englis ...

at the start of his football career. The 7 ft-tall bronze figure, sculpted by Vivien Mallock, shows a 24-year-old Clough with his boots slung over his shoulder striding towards

Ayresome Park Ayresome Park was a football stadium in the Ayresome area of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Middlesbrough F.C. from its construction in time for the 1903–04 season, until the Riverside Stadium opened in 1995. It ...

, Middlesbrough's former ground, on his way to training. A grade II listed sundial, designed and constructed by John Smith of Stockton, was donated by H. W. F. Bolckow in 1879. The sundial allows people within the park itself to read the time in the UK,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. The central fountain in Albert Park, was originally presented by Joseph Pease in 1869. It underwent substantial renovation and was switched back on Friday 2 April 2004. A cannon captured by British forces after the Siege of Sevastopol is displayed in the park, located near the main entrance gate by the Dorman Museum.

Events

Parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of 5K run, events for runners, walkers and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across five continents. Parkrun was founded by Paul Sinto ...

takes place every Saturday morning at 9 am. A Junior

for 4-14 year olds takes place every Sunday morning at 9 am. It also hosts the annual Middlesbrough Mela.

Image gallery

References

External links

{{Authority control Parks in Middlesbrough Grade II listed parks and gardens in North Yorkshire