Beechwood Park is a thirty-acre
public park
An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...
situated in the eastern
Beechwood area of the city of
Newport,
South Wales
South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...
. The park is listed on the
.
History
Beechwood House was built in 1877–78 as a private residence by George Fothergill,
a former
Mayor of Newport. It was designed in a classical style using Bath stone, by architects
Habershon, Pite & Fawckner. In 1900 the Beechwood estate was purchased by
Newport Corporation and opened as a public park.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the park was used by US military personnel stationed in the city, and it was later used as a tuberculosis clinic, model railway club, and open air school.
Community
The park is protected by a group of local volunteers in the Beechwood Park Group, founded in 2014 with the purpose of organising events for local people and improving the facilities available to visitors, including raising £1,850 for new parasols for outdoor seating.
The park's historical heritage is also protected by the Friends of Newport's Ornamental Parks, established in 2006 to improve the management of Victorian-era parks in the city.
Facilities
Current facilities include two children's play areas, a paddling pool (summer only), a bowling green, a pavilion, and two tennis courts.
In 2013 a café was opened and named Mrs T's. It is open between 9.30am and 4.30pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday. The café was extended in 2018 and owner Jayne Thorley has described the new space as suited for afternoon tea, Sunday lunches and special events.
In 2019 the park hosted a weekend of free musical entertainment organised by the Beechwood Parks Events Group in conjunction with
Newport City Radio with a range of musical guests, a raffle, food from The Café, and more.
Renovation
In 2006, work began on the renovation and conversion of Beechwood House to become the Beechwood House
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones.
An entrepreneu ...
Centre.
Newport City Council secured a total of £4.2million of funding from the
European Regional Development Fund
The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and se ...
(ERDF),
Welsh Government Local Regeneration Fund, along with further retrospective ERDF funds, for the project. The Centre opened in March 2009.
Awards
Beechwood is listed on the
. It has held a Green Flag award from
Keep Wales Tidy
Keep Wales Tidy is a Wales, Welsh national voluntary environmental charity which works towards achieving "a clean, safe and tidy Wales". It works in partnership with Local Authorities, schools and community groups, and organisations such as W ...
since 2007.
References
External links
Newport City Council Countryside & ParksThe Café at BeechwoodBeechwood Park Group BPG
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Parks in Newport, Wales
History of Newport, Wales
Registered historic parks and gardens in Newport