PHILIPS
PARK

 Philips Park's Tulip Valley got its name
the early twentieth century from the
spectacular floral displays that filled
ornamental flower beds. These
a celebrated annual feature that
attract thousands of visitors to the
particularly during the weekend of
Sunday' (usually the first or second
in May) when the display was
most vibrant, with over 50,000
flower in full bloom.

r beds you can see here today
ally laid out in 1847, but the

first recorded mention of Tulip Sunday
dates from 1896. The displays were
held every year until the late 1930s,
except 1916-1922 when the First World
War and its aftermath meant it was
impossible to obtain Dutch tulips in the
vast numbers required. The 1930s were
Tulip Valley's heyday, with Tulip Sunday
being Manchester's most important
horticultural event. People would queue
from the early morning to enter the park
- it was estimated that 20,000 people
visited the park during the weekend of
Tulip Sunday.

“You are walking down the little hill that leads into the valley, but trees and high green banks hide what is below. Then, quite suddenly, you come on the loveliest site in Manchester, and stop short to gasp at it. Over fifty thousand tulips, in fourteen colours, spread their jeweled brilliance in a setting of trim green borders”
The News 29th April 1939

The Second World War meant there
would be no tulip displays during the
1940s, and although they resumed for a
while in the 1950s, Tulip Valley's heyday
as a visitor attraction was over. The last
annual displays were held in the early
1960s: soon after these, the flower beds
would be grassed over.

Although the annual tulip displays are
now a thing of the past, Tulip Valley
still contains an array of ornamental
flowerbeds, and two 'Tulip Trees'
- flowering deciduous trees in the
Magnolia family - have been planted in
honour of the valley's history and the
flower that made it famous. In spring and
summer, when the flowers are in bloom,
the sheltered valley offers an oasis of
bright colours in which to relax, unwind
and escape the bustle of city life.

NEWEASTMANCHESTER

NEWEASTMANCHESTER

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Contact Philips Park Visitor Centre on:

0161 231 3090

PHILIPS
PARK

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2005/16

The Medlock Valley is the setting for Philips Park: the River Medlock flows through the heart of East Manchester, forming the northern boundary of the park and linking it to other important areas such as Clayton Vale, Sportcity and the City Centre.

The River Medlock begins upstream of Strinesdale Reservoir to the north east of Oldham, flowing through East Manchester to join the Irwell and Manchester Ship Canal at Castlefield. The total length of the river is 22 miles, 3.5 miles of which runs through East Manchester, from Great Ancoats Street in the west to Clayton Bridge in the east.

The Industrial Revolution exacted a heavy toll on the river, with factories and waste tips lining its banks. Recent restoration of the river and its

landscape has seen an improvement in water quality and the return of fish and other wildlife.

## The Flood of 1872

This contemporary newspaper account vividly describes the gruesome effects of the flood.

> It was about half past twelve when the floods came ... the banks of the Medlock were overflowed to such an alarming extent and the first intimation of the flood was the sweeping away of a footbridge near to Philips Park ... It must have been very strongly fixed, for it not only bore the rush of the flood for a considerable time, but it resisted it to such an extent that the water backed up for a considerable distance. The flood increased in depth and power, and at a length swept in a fierce torrent over a large portion of ground apportioned to the Roman Catholics at the Bradford Cemetery carrying away not only tombstones but actually washing out of their graves, a large number of dead bodies. Indeed from the first indication of danger, in far as works on the banks of the Medlock were concerned, dead bodies were observed floating down the river, and those watching could easily see that the bodies had been disinterred out of the Bradford cemetery. It is impossible to calculate how many had been swept out of their final resting place but the number is not short of fifty. 99 Manchester Courier, 15 July 1872

Afterwards rumour had it that as many as five hundred bodies had been swept away, with large numbers lost at sea, though at a Government Enquiry Manchester's Town Clerk stated that the total number of bodies disinterred was seventy six.

## Philips Park Cemetery

Philips Park Cemetery is situated on the northern bank of the River Medlock, facing Philips Park. It was Manchester's first municipal public cemetery when it opened in 1866.

The bodies laid to rest during the cemetery's first few years did not all rest easily. In the summer of 1872, torrential rains caused floods that disinterred many bodies, carrying them along the river. In response to the flooding,

work began on the red terracotta-brick channel which now carries the river between the park and the cemetery.

The cemetery has several listed structures and graves of historic interest – see the Philips Park website for more information. It is open for visitors from 9am on weekdays and from 10am on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. Access to the cemetery from the park is via a footbridge upstream from this point.

Megan

NEW EAST MANCHESTER

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