page_title: Birkenhead Park
section_title: Points of interest
hierarchical_section_title: Birkenhead Park / Points of interest
caption_attribution_description: English: Front view of the monument approaching from the Grand Entrance
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: The Grand Entrance is at the northeast entrance to Birkenhead Park. It consists of three arches flanked by lodges and is in Ionic style.  The entrance was designed by Lewis Hornblower, with amendments by Joseph Paxton, the designer of the park.  The park, and its entrance, were opened in 1847.  The Grand Entrance is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.
  The Swiss Bridge, a 23-foot (7.01 m) pedestrian span of stringer construction built in 1847, is unique as being the only covered bridge of traditional wooden construction (similar to North American and European covered bridges) in the United Kingdom.  It was modelled after similar wooden bridges in Switzerland.
  The Roman Boathouse stands by the lake in the park, the upper storey was originally intended to be a bandstand. It is built in stone and consists of a square pavilion with a segmental arch to the boathouse, above which is an arcaded and pilastered storey and a pantile roof.
  The Cricket Pavilion was built in 1849, designed by Lewis Hornblower, in brick with a Welsh slate roof and has a single storey.  In front of it is a timber verandah carried on cast iron Corinthian columns.  This has three gables, with a clock in the apex of the central gable, and the date 1846, the date of the founding of the club.  It is one of the earliest surviving cricket pavilions in the country.
  The Jackson Memorial Drinking Fountain near the main entrance to Birkenhead Park is in the form of an obelisk that was made in 1860. It is in polished granite, and stands on a pedimented plinth surrounded by steps.  It is dedicated to John Somerville Jackson who was instrumental in the creation of the park.
caption: Jackson Memorial drinking fountain
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