Victoria Park is an

urban 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 ...

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, South West England. It is the main town of the Torridge District, Torridge Districts of England, local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bi ...

, Devon, England. The park opened in 1912 to celebrate the reign 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 ...

, the gates erected for the opening are listed with

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

. There is a bandstand surrounded by nine cannons and facilities including rugby and cricket.

History

The park opened in 1912 to celebrate

's reign. In 1944 an oak tree was planted to celebrate the good relations between the people of Bideford and US Army personnel who were stationed in the town between 1940 and 1944. Rose beds were dedicated to

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William ...

after her burial and in 2000 a Millennium Time Capsule was put in the ground near the entrance.

Landmarks

The gates and gate piers at the entrance to the park are Grade II listed with

. They were erected in 1912 for the opening of the park and have scrollwork and foliage. In the centre of each gate there is a

cartouche upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the bottom., Birth and throne cartouches of Pharaoh KV17.html" ;"title="Seti I, from KV17">Seti I, from KV17 at the ...

showing the borough insignia. On the East pier there is a plaque noting the opening of the park on 9 November 1912 and saying the gates were given by Geo. Oliver Peard in memory of his wife. The

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 ornamen ...

is surrounded by nine 16th century

cannons A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during t ...

Richard Grenville Sir Richard Grenville ( – ), also spelt Greynvile, Greeneville, and Greenfield, was an English privateer and explorer. Grenville was lord of the manors of Stowe, Cornwall and Bideford, Devon. He subsequently participated in the plantat ...

after being in a ship battle in 1585 captured a Spanish ship called the ''Santa Maria de Vincente'', which he took to Bideford and converted into an English ship called ''Galleon Dudley''. The cannons from ''Santa Maria de San Vicente'' were discovered by the quayside of Bideford in 1895. They were later placed in the park and erroneously labelled 'Armada cannons'. The ''Galleon Dudley'' saw action against the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (often known as Invincible Armada, or the Enterprise of England, ) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval ...

but the ''Santa Maria de Vincente'' cannons did not.

Facilities

There is a bandstand, bowling greens, three children's playgrounds, an outdoor gym, a paddling pool, walking and picnicking. Bideford Rugby Club is based at the park, there is also a cricket club. Bideford

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 in the park.

Burton at Bideford The Burton at Bideford is an art gallery and museum on Kingsley Road in Victoria Park, Bideford, Victoria Park, in Bideford, Devon, England. It houses collections on various topics connected with Bideford’s history and cultural heritage. Th ...

, an art gallery and museum, is located at the park.

References

{{reflist Parks and open spaces in Devon Bideford