Formerly called the People's Park,

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

's West Park was opened on 6 June 1881. It is Grade II* listed in

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 ...

's Register of Parks and Gardens.

Background

The site chosen for the first of the large parks in Wolverhampton was the Race Course, or Broad Meadows, owned by the

Duke of Cleveland Duke of Cleveland was a title that was created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The dukedoms were named after Cleveland in northern England. The first creation in 1670 (along with the baro ...

. On 12 March 1879,

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

Samuel Dickinson invited

landscape gardener Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for constructi ...

s to compete for the layout of the park. The winner of the £50 prize was Richard Hartland Vertegans of Chad Valley Nurseries,

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is a suburb of Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies immediately south-west of Birmingham city centre, and was historically in Warwickshire. The Ward (electoral subdivision), wards of Edgbaston and Nort ...

, Birmingham. This was several years before Vertegans designed Victoria Park, Handsworth, Birmingham. The remit from the council included: *Ornamental lakes, 8 acres *Areas for volunteer drill, archery, cricket and bowls, 12 acres The park was opened on 6 June 1881 by the Mayor of Wolverhampton, Alderman John Jones. The bandstand was presented by the town's long serving M.P., Rt. Hon.

Charles Pelham Villiers Charles Pelham Villiers (3 January 1802 – 16 January 1898) was a British lawyer and politician from the aristocratic Villiers family. He sat in the House of Commons for 63 years, from 1835 to 1898, making him the longest-serving Member of Parl ...

, on 29 May 1882. Now

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

, it was restored in 2002 at a cost of £70,000. The conservatory was opened in July 1896 by the widow of former Mayor Alderman Samuel Dickinson. Built at a cost of £1,500, it had been funded by the 1893 Floral Fêtes, one of a series of annual fêtes held between 1889 and 1939. The largest and most ambitious exhibition held in Wolverhampton was the 1902 Arts and Industrial Exhibition which was sited in West Park. Although housing only one international pavilion, from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, the scope and scale of the exhibition mirrored all the advances in other exhibitions of its time. The exhibition site featured several large halls housing machinery, industrial products, a concert hall, two bandstands, a restaurant, and a fun fair with thrill rides and a water chute. Its opening, by the

Duke of Connaught Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was al ...

, was received with hopeful enthusiasm, unfortunately not matched by the weather, which contributed to a £30,000 loss, equivalent to nearly £2M at today's value. In 1911, commemorative flower beds were set out for the coronation of King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

; similarly in 1937 for

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. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, ducks and rabbits were raised and vegetables were grown to aid the war effort. In 1942, the park was turned into allotments and the normal closing time was extended to allow for the extra work involved. The park was placed on the Heritage National Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in 1986. A grant was received from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

in 2005 to refurbish the tea room.

Gallery

Bandstand and lake at West Park - geograph.org.uk - 335656.jpg , Grade II listed bandstand, 1882 Tea room in the West Park - geograph.org.uk - 337763.jpg , Tea Room, refurbished in 2005 Lakeside pavilion in West Park - geograph.org.uk - 760285.jpg , Lakeside pavilion Lodge at South Gate to West Park - geograph.org.uk - 452738.jpg , South Gate lodge, West Park West Park Goose - geograph.org.uk - 1423385.jpg , A flock of Canada Geese, ''Branta Canadensis''

Commonwealth Games 2022

In 2022, West Park hosted the cycling time trials for Birmingham 2022, on Thursday 4 August 2022. The park was the start and finish of the races and the race then going around the city centre and taking in other parts of the Black Country to complete the route. Ian Reid,

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Birmingham 2022, said Wolverhampton was the perfect setting for the time trials, as there was plenty of space and incredible support for cycling around the city, and that it was vital to bring the games to the whole of the West Midlands.

Today

Most facilities are free or at nominal cost: *Wildlife lakes, boats are no longer in operation *Picnicking *Tennis courts *Tearooms *Children's play area *Disabled access *

Guide dogs Guide dogs (colloquially known in the US as seeing-eye dogs) are assistance dogs trained to lead people who are blind or visually impaired around obstacles. Although dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are red–green col ...

welcome *Bowling green (situated in Park Crescent) *Victorian conservatory: global plant collection. No longer open to the public since Covid. The park hosts: *Weekly park run *Various events throughout the summer

References

External links

Black Country History, Archive PhotosList entry, Register of Historic Parks and Gardens, English HeritageWest Park Conservatory Virtual Tour
{{2022 Commonwealth Games venues Urban public parks 1881 establishments in England Wolverhampton Parks and open spaces in the West Midlands (county) Grade II* listed parks and gardens in the West Midlands (county)