West
Park is right on my doorstep. If I need to go to Town or the City as I
suppose I should call it then I can go out the back way from home into
Albert Road and take in a walk through West Park from the Conservatory
entrance.
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| Wolverhampton West Park 1945 |
Wolverhampton West Park 2010
As you can see from the two overhead pictures West Park has changed very little in form over the last 65 years.
For
the uninitiated Google Earth added some overhead view from 1945 for
some parts of the UK last year and they offer a fascinating insight into
how places have changed over the last 70 years.
On
the first view you can see the old Vauxhalls area off the Tettenhall
Road which is now home to some high rise flats and you can also see the
area surrounding the Molinuex which is pretty unrecognisable thanks to
the god forsaken ring road. Apart from this though a lot of what was
here in 1945 remains today.
West
Park, or the ‘People’s Park’ as it was then known (Tony Blair would
have liked that) was opened by Mayor John Jones on 6 June 1881 on the
site of the Old Racecourse. There is lots of detail on the History of
the Park here.
The Conservatory is beautiful and full of interesting plants from all over the world.
The
conservatory changes all year round with plants coming into flower at
different times so it's always worth popping in. It's also nice and warm
on a cold winters day.
The
Victorians were very enthusiastic botanists and there are a wide
variety of different Tree species dotted around the Park. I have to be
honest I struggle to name all the English Trees let alone the imported
ones but help is at hand. A leaflet called the West Park Tree Trail is
available from the Lodge at the South Gate of the Park. This takes you
round a trail of 17 different tree species from around the world. When
the Weather gets a bit better and the trees are coming into flower I'm
going to do the trail and take some pictures of the various Trees.
However
as Google is available I'll run through the tree trail anyway. These
are not pictures of the ones in West Park. That is for another day.
1. Cedrus Libani - Cedar of Lebanon Details
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Quercus Petraea - Sessile Oak Details
Out on the Boating lake there are a wide variety of species of Ducks and I must admit a rather bruising gaggle of Canadian Geese who always seem a bit sinister to me. I still remember my Grandad getting serious hassle off some Geese down the Crooked House in Himley years ago. I've always given them a wide berth since.
You are allowed to feed them but make sure it's Wholemeal according to the notice lol FFS !
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| Follow the Leader |
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| Conservatory Entrance opposite Albert Road |
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| Beautiful Bandstand |
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| 1880 Bridge |
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| Sir Charles Pelham Villiers |
Charles Pelham Villiers (3 January 1802 – 16 January 1898) was a British lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1835 to 1898, making him the longest-serving Member of Parliament (MP). Villiers was elected as a Liberal Member of Parliament for Wolverhampton in 1835. In 1837, 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842, 1843, 1844, 1845 he launched parliamentary debates in attempts to repeal the Corn Laws. Bit more info here.
Great Picture of Mr Pelham Villiers from Vanity Fair
He looks like he would fit in quite well in Modern day Wolverhampton.
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| Bandstand |
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| West Park Tea Rooms |
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| Tree planted for Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee |
Anyway West Park is well worth a visit. ;0)
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