Palmer Park is a

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 ...

in Reading,

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 land for the park was given to the town by the proprietors of the Huntley & Palmers biscuit firm and it contains a statue of George Palmer. The park in turn gives its name to Park ward of the Borough of Reading, which surrounds it. In 1882, the land was used for that year's Royal Agricultural Show, on one of its two visits to the town. In 1889, the initial of land was transferred to the town by the proprietors of Huntley & Palmers. It was extended to 49 acres in 1891, and the full park was opened on 4 November 1891. The park and pavilion were designed by architect, William Ravenscroft. The Park was the venue for the 1927 WAAA Championships, held on 9 July 1927. Popular with local residents for various activities, it often hosts religious festivals, sports tournaments and small special events. In the past, Carter's Steam Fair visited the park every year. However, they had to suspend the annual event due to the discovery of ground subsidence in the park in 2001. Chalk mines were found underneath the park and the weight of the fairground rides posed a great danger. The areas affected have now been shored up and compacted to stop any incident from occurring and the Fair is visiting again.

Park facilities

The park also contains Palmer Park Stadium, a velodrome and athletics

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

. Included in the park are Palmer Park Library, Palmer Park Bowling Club, two playgrounds, a community cafeChalkboard Cafe impresses Reading MP
Rob Wilson. and a number of football pitches which are used every week for local matches. During the summer months, some of the goal posts are removed to make way for a cricket pitch.

References

External links

Palmer Park Sports Stadium
p 1889 establishments in the United Kingdom Parks and open spaces in Reading, Berkshire {{Berkshire-geo-stub