Grosvenor Park

Grosvenor Park is the only park within the centre of Chester. It is famous for its tame squirrels and its formal gardens. It is bounded by the River Dee to the south, Vicar's Lane and Union Street to the north, Dee Lane to the east and the footpath from the amphitheater to The Groves to the west. There are entrances along each of the park boundaries. It is a very popular spot for weekend strolls and gets very busy in warm weather.

Grosvenor Park is now regarded by many as one of the finest and most complete examples of Victorian parks in the north-west of England, if not nationally. Many changes have taken place since its official opening, but much of the original design and features have been retained. The park is registered on English Heritage's list of Historic Parks and Gardens.

The character of the park is a classical 19th century design. It is typically Victorian in its layout with formal avenues lined with trees, statuary, large sweeping lawns surrounded with ornamental shrub beds and display bedding. The bedding displays are planted twice yearly to provide a spectacular and colourful display throughout the spring and summer.

=History=

Earliest times
Recently, the western part of Grosvenor Park was subjected to a full compliment of non-invasive archaeological survey techniques. The results indicated that the site was originally that of a Georgian house known as Cholmondeley's Mansion, which itself had replaced a medieval building that passed to the Cholmondeley family at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century.

The survey also identified several linear anomalies cutting across the park that do not respect either the alignments of the park or the historical townscape. These anomalies might indicate previously unknown archaeological features worthy of investigation and future interpretation.

The area that is now Grosvenor Park was originally made up of fields. The largest of these was marked on the 1833 plan of the city as 'Billy Obbies Field', in the corner of which was a spring, known as Billy Hobby's Well.

Construction
The park covers some 20 acres and the land was given to the city by Richard, the Second Marquess of Westminster. On 9 October 1867, he wrote to the General of Chester City Council: "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."

The park was designed by Edward Kemp, landscape designer and former pupil of Joseph Paxton, the architect of the Crystal Palace in London. The Marquess paid for the design and laying out of the new "pleasure park".

Many of the features and buildings within the park were designed by the architect John Douglas. These include Grosvenor Park Lodge, the boundary wall and gateways in to the park and the canopy to Billy Hobby's well. Grosvenor Park Lodge was originally the head park keeper's residence but is today used as the city council's parks and gardens administrative office.

While the park was being prepared in 1865/66, a cholera epidemic broke out in the city. For want of more appropriate accommodation, the sick were accommodated in a temporary structure on the park site, making it the first building there.

The grand opening
The official opening of Grosvenor Park in 1867 was launched with a grand procession that was more than a mile long. The East Gate was adorned with evergreens and the arms of the Grosvenor family were surmounted with a trophy of flags. The inscription below the family coat of arms reads: "Cestria today with grateful heart. accepts her noble neighbours more than princely gift. Her children, too, in ages yet unborn, shall bless the donor of the peoples park".

=Things to see=

Statue of Richard Grosvenor
There is a marble statue of the park's donor, Richard the Second Marquis, in Garter robes. It was sculpted by Thomas Thornicroft and erected in 1869 at the junction of four avenues.

"In November 1865, a subscription was originated by the tenantry of the Marquess of Westminster and by the citizens of Chester for the purpose of raising a testimonial to mark the public and private worth of his lordship, and the high estimation in which he is held by his neighbours and tenants, as well as by all classes of the community. Upwards of £5,000 was ... contributed for the purpose, and it was ...resolved that ...a statue be erected in a prominent place in the new Park".

The plinth is inscribed "Richard: Second Marquess of Westminster: K.G. The Generous Landlord: The Friend of the Distressed: The Helper of all Good Works: The Benefactor to this City: Erected by Tenants Friends and Neighbours; AD 1869". Two sets of guns used to share this space with the Marquess. There were two Boer guns which had been captured in the Boer War and also two Russian guns which had been captured at Sebastopol being brought in state to the castle in June 1857 and later placed by the monument. It is believed that these guns were melted down in the Second World War.

Grosvenor Park Lodge
The Lodge was originally the Park Keeper's Lodge and is now Chester City Council's Parks & Gardens Office. The design of the Lodge and Billy Hobby's Well are the first recorded instance of John Douglas's employment at the hands of the Grosvenor family. The ground floor of the Lodge is made of stones with half-timbering on the second storey. This is Douglas's first known use of black and white. The masonry detailing is Gothic. There are seven carvings representing the Norman Earls of Chester and one representing William the Conqueror. Moving around the house from left to right, the statues are:

William the Conqueror Hugh Lupus (1070-1120) Richard (1101-1120) Randle (1120-1128) Randle II (1128-1153) Hugh II (1153-1181) Ranulph (1181-1232) John the Scot (1232-1237)

Billy Hobby's Well
This was situated in Billy Hobby's Field before the park was created. The well had a magical reputation in Chester. Chester maidens would stand with their right leg immersed in the water, wishing for husbands. John Douglas designed a little medieval-style canopy for the well.

Ancient relics
Some ancient relics of old Chester were also re-erected in Grosvenor Park:


 * the Old Shipgate Arch – this medieval arch formerly stood at the west of the Bridgegate and was taken down in 1831.


 * Jacob's Well drinking fountain – this little stone arch had a fountain for people and a dish for their pets. It is now dried up. Beside the fountain is the inscription "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall never thirst again" (John IV, 13).


 * St. Mary's Arch – the archway and wing walls were removed from St Mary's Benedictine Nunnery (adjacent to the Roodee). The Nunnery had lain in ruins since Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century. The arch and walls date from around the 13th century.


 * a doorway from old St Michael Church

=Other attractions=

A children's railway runs in a loop on the east side of the park near to the north gate on Union Street. There is a pond in the centre of the loop.

The sensory garden and large area of open space are on the west side, which is mainly used for informal recreational sporting activities.

=Views=

There's not much to see on the northern edge of the park, apart from the buildings on Union Street and Vicar's Lane. The best views are to the south, where the grounds start to slope towards the river valley. Here you can see spectacular views of the River Dee, especially to the south-east, the Meadows, the mansions of Queen's Park on the opposite river bank and on a clear day you can see as far as Shropshire.

=Trees=

The mature trees, including the avenues of holly and lime, were planted during the development of the park in the 1860/70s. The lime trees lining the main avenues have been traditionally maintained in keeping with the Victorian fashion for creating a pyramidal form, which gives rise to their rather strange appearance during the winter months.

Many new specimens have been introduced since then, including two Californian redwoods, (Sequoia sempervirens), planted in the mid 1970s. These two trees were raised from the seeds of the famous Giant Redwood named "General Sherman" growing in the Californian National Park whose recorded height is 275 feet with a circumference of 83 feet. The two redwoods planted in Grosvenor Park are not expected to attain such astounding dimensions, but may nevertheless develop into very large specimens.

=Squirrels and other wildlife=

The park, being situated as it is adjacent to the river and to open countryside, abounds with wildlife.

There are hundreds of grey squirrels (Sciurus Carolinensis) living in the park. They are extremely tame and will happily run up to take nuts from your fingers. Local folklore says that Grosvenor Park was the first place in Britain where they were introduced from the USA. This is incorrect as grey squirrels were first recorded appearing in nearby Denbighshire, across the Welsh border, in the 1820s. Systematic introduction began when a Mr T. V. Brocklehurst liberated a pair from Henbury Park, Macclesfield in 1876. They seem to have been brought to Chester soon after.

The pigeon population in the park has grown considerably over the years. Together, the grey squirrels and pigeons account for a lot of damage to the annual bedding schemes through continual scavenging for food, so don't be too alarmed if you see irate park staff shouting and frantically waving their arms!

Many other species of birds can be seen, some of which may nest in the park. These include mallards and waterhens on the pond, as well as robins, songthrushes and blackbirds. Watch out for the more unusual species, such as the spotted flycatcher, a summer migrant, and the tree creeper, a shy furtive bird which may be seen walking up tree trunks in search of insects.

=Scheduled revamp=

Chester City Council has applied for a £5m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund's Parks for People programme to carry out a revamp of Grosvenor Park. The revamp includes work on the Groves and the St Johns Church areas. For information on the proposals, or if you'd like to get involved, you can visit the consultation site.