Tyne and Wear HER(1859): Sunderland, Mowbray Park - Details
1859
Sunderland
Sunderland, Mowbray Park
Sunderland
NZ35NE
Gardens Parks and Urban Spaces
Park
Public Park
Early Modern
C19
Structure
Mowbray Park occupies 7 hectare. It is divided by the railway cutting it into two halves; Mowbray Extension Park to the north and Mowbray Park to the south. The original site, at first known as People's Park, was acquired by the Borough in 1854/5 as part of the development of the railway. The gardener to Lord Londonderry, Mr Lawson, and Joseph Smith who had worked at Chatsworth were responsible for laying out the park, which opened in 1857 and was later renamed Mowbray Park. In 1866, an extension north of the railway opened, known as Mowbray Extension Park. The two halves of the Park are linked by a cast and wrought iron footbridge erected over the railway cutting in 1866. The Extension Park was overlooked by a vast Winter Garden built in 1879 on the site of the present library, but it was damaged by bombing in 1941 and demolished in 1942. In addition to its gardens and walks, features of the park include a cast iron drinking fountain (dated 1878), a bowling green with pavilion and a tennis court, and a portion of medieval arch from Bishopwearmouth Rectory. Statues include those of John Candlish (1815-74), MP for Sunderland; General Henry Havelock (1775-1857) by Behnes, 1861; and Jack Crawford (1775-1831), by Percy Wood, 1890. REGISTERED HISTORIC PARK.
3986
5659
NZ39865659
<< HER 1859 >> English Heritage, Register of Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England, GD2391;
F. Green, 1995, A Guide to the Historic Parks and Gardens of Tyne and Wear, p 35-36, 41;
W. Mitchell, 1919, History of Sunderland ;
T. Corfe, 1973, History of Sunderland;
T. Corfe, 1975, Wearmouth Heritage;
A. Pickersgill, 1977, Discovering Sunderland;
The Opening of the New Park, Sunderland, Tuesday July 10, 1866, Sunderland Borough Central Library, Local Pamphlets, 8
H. Conway,1991, People's Parks, p 94, 96, 140, 156, 177, 230;
Tumman, J, Johnson, M and Lane, A (no date) A walk around Historic Sunderland- The Fawcett and Sunniside Estates