Grosvenor Park Chester
Grosvenor Park Chester is a typical Victorian town park, some 20 acres in size, laid out with large lawned areas, flower beds, ornamental shrubs, statuary, and formal avenues. Given to the city in 1867 by Richard Grosvenor, second Marquis of Westminster. It stand on high ground overlooking the River Dee and was one of the first public parks in Britain.
I am desirous of placing the park on the hands of the corporation as a gift on my part to the citizens of Chester, hoping it may afford health and recreation to themselves and their families for many years to come.
Richard, 2nd Marquis of Westminster
Designed by Edward Kemp,who had worked for Joseph Paxton, creator of the “Crystal Palace” of 1851, when Paxton was Head Gardener at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. Kemp supervised the construction of the Paxton designed Birkenhead Park, in 1845-1847, and for the following 40 years was the park's Superintendent. Birkenhead Park was to be a great influence on Frederick Law Olmsted in his designs for Central Park in New York. Indeed Kemp himself was one of the judges of the New York Central Park competition in 1857. Chester's Grosvenor Park is registered on English Heritage's list of Historic Parks and Gardens and is held to be one of the finest examples of existing Victorian park design in north western England.
The land occupied by the park was once occupied by a Georgian house belonging to the Cholmondeley family and was a series of fields the largest of which was known as Billy Obbies field. On the southern side of this field, at the base of the high ground is Bill Hobby's Well, a spring, now dried up, which is covered by an ornamental canopy. It was said to have magical powers where love sick girls could stand with their right legs in the water and wish for a husband.
At the climax of the grand avenue of holly and lime trees that marches across the garden from west to east, where a second avenue crosses, is a statue carved in Marble of the 2nd Marquis of Westminster by the sculptor and engineer, Thomas Thorneycroft, who created the bronze sculptures that stand outside St Georges Hall, Liverpool and who later designed the large bronze sculpture of Boadicea that now stands on Westminster Bridge in London. The Grosvenor scuplture was rected in 1869 after a public subscription had raised £3,500 for it's commissioning. The trees of the avenue are maintained in the Victorian tradition as pyramidal shapes. Also planted in the park are a couple of Californian Giant Sequoias planted in 1970 from seeds from the famous 2,700 year old General Sherman tree growing in the Sequoia National Park, California. By volume the worlds largest tree.
On the lower part of the park near The Groves there are a group of stone arches that were transferred from other parts of the city. There is a arched doorway from old St Michaels church, some arches from St Mary's Nunnery (Surrendered in 1537 during the dissolution of the monestaries. The nunnery buildings being occupied by the Brereton family. It stood on the site now occupied by the HQ building, Sir William Brereton commanded the parliamentarian forces besieging Chester during the English Civil war. The Royalist occupiers of the city looted and destroyed the buildings) and the old Shipgate that stood at the bottom of St Mary's Hill near to the west of Bridge Gate.
Just above these arches is a garden for the blind where herbs and other scented plants are grown in raised beds. At the eastern end of the park is a pond around which the Grosvenor Park Miniature Railway runs during the summer months and during school holidays and on the northern edge of the park is a small children's play area with climbing frames, swings and see-saws.
Chester's Grosvenor Park is a popular destination on sunny days. Especially so during school holidays and weekends. During the week it is a good place to seek out a quiet corner. There are numerous seating facilities and getting about is easy as most of the park is on level ground with some steep lopes on the southern side down to The Groves and the River Dee. The park is home to some very tame grey squirrels. At the eastern end there are good views across the river to the water meadows on the southern bank.
Click on the thumbnails to see larger photographs of Grosvenor Park Chester:
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