page_title: Birkenhead Park
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Birkenhead Park / History
caption_attribution_description: Photo taken at Birkenhead Park, Merseyside, England.
context_page_description: Birkenhead Park is a major public park located in the centre of Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It was designed by Joseph Paxton and opened on 5 April 1847. It is generally acknowledged as the first publicly funded civic park in the world. The park was designated a conservation area in 1977 and declared a Grade I listed landscape by English Heritage in 1995. The park influenced the design of Central Park in New York and Sefton Park in Liverpool.
  The park contains many listed buildings. The Grand Entrance was designed by Lewis Hornblower and is at the northeast corner; it consists of three arches flanked by lodges and is in Ionic style. The Swiss Bridge, a pedestrian span of stringer construction, is unique as being the only covered bridge of traditional wooden construction in the United Kingdom. There is also a Pavilion called the Roman Boathouse standing by the lake in the park, the upper storey of which was originally intended to be a bandstand. There are many historic listed lodges of various designs within the grounds of the park.
  The park has a modern visitor centre, café, children's play area, woodland walks and various sporting facilities and clubs.
context_section_description: In 1841 an Improvement Commission within Birkenhead's local government proposed the idea of a municipal park. A Private Act of Parliament allowed it to use public money to buy 226 acres (91 ha) of marshy grazing land on the western edge of Birkenhead. Plots of land on the edge of the proposed park were then sold off in order to finance its construction. The park plan was designed by Joseph Paxton and the building was supervised by Edward Kemp because both had previously worked on redesigning the gardens at Chatsworth House. Entrances, gateways, lodges, and other structures were designed for the park by Lewis Hornblower and John Robertson.  Meanwhile, high-class residential accommodation was being built both around the park and in other areas, such as Clifton Park, the layout and buildings designed by Walter Scott and Charles Reed.  Although some large houses and private villas were initially built by local merchants and wealthier business people, the Long Depression in the latter 19th century meant many plots remained undeveloped well into early 20th century.
  The park took five years to build and was officially opened on 5 April 1847 by Lord Morpeth, an estimated 10,000 people attended on that day. The park had an informal style rather than a structured neatly arranged urban garden. Several miles of drainage pipes were laid to remove the water from the marshy land. During construction, hundreds of tonnes of stone and earth were moved to create well-drained terraces, hills, rockeries and lakes. It also led to the diversion of Old Bidston Road and the loss of a direct route between Claughton and Woodside.
  Paxton planted trees and shrubs at various places so visitors would enjoy the surprise of unexpected views or hidden features as they wandered through the park. Buildings included the Swiss Bridge, Boathouse, Norman Lodges, Gothic Lodge, Castellated Lodge and Italian Lodge. The Grand Entrance, which is one of several into the park, was built to look like a classical triumphal arch. 
  During the First World War, part of the park was used as a training ground by the 3rd Battalion of the Cheshire Regiment. Recruits stayed at the Birkenhead Barracks on Grange Road West. Conscientious objectors were sent to the 3rd Cheshires because the battalion had a tough reputation. The family of a local trade unionist and "conchie", George Beardsworth, watched as he was repeatedly beaten and thrown over an obstacle course in the park. Although his treatment at Birkenhead led to questions in Parliament and a court case against the officers and men involved, no one was ever censured or prosecuted. In 1917 the National Eisteddfod of Wales ("The Eisteddfod of the Black Chair"), which was attended by Prime Minister David Lloyd George, was held within the park. The park had already paid host to the event in 1878 and 1879. During the Second World War the area was damaged by bombs and a Spitfire made a crash landing in the park.
  The park was designated a conservation area in 1977 and declared a Grade I listed landscape by English Heritage in 1995.
  The park became run down and neglected towards the end of the part of the 20th century. Beginning in the late 2000s, it has undergone major restoration work. A purpose-built visitors centre has been installed and work done to restore its original buildings and bridges as well as tidy up the lakes and parklands, and unblock the drainage system. The park underwent a five-year £11.5 million renovation completed in 2007, funded jointly by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Wirral Waterfront SRB, Wirral Council, and the European Union via the Objective One programme. All of the paths have been improved, trees and shrubs have been planted, the lakes have been emptied, cleaned and reshaped and most of the original features have been restored to their former Victorian glory.
caption: Eisteddfod stone within the Park.
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