Stamford Park

• Tree Works and Planting Open Afternoon
• Winter in Stamford Park
• Events and Facilities
• Friends Group
• History of Stamford Park
• Stamford Park Restoration

Tree Works and Planting Open Afternoon

Call in anytime between 13.00 and 16.00, 27th February 2010, Stamford Park Conservatory. 

We are going to be carrying out tree works in Stamford Park over the next couple of weeks in advance of the restoration project. These works will involve the management and felling of a small proportion of the trees in the park. Further details on the proposals can be found in the Conservatory notice boards or come along to the open afternoon on the 27th February.

At the open afternoon you will be able to meet the Project Manager and find out more about the trees in the Park, the tree survey we have completed and the decisions on trees to be removed and managed.

If you would like any further information and can’t make the open afternoon then please contact Nicola Marshall, Project Manager, on 0161 342 3348

Winter in Stamford Park

Winter has truly arrived at Stamford Park. The park has been enveloped in snow giving it a very different look as you can see from these pictures.

The Conservatory currently has a magnificent display of poinsettias all grown locally at Tameside’s own Nursery in Denton; these offer a splash of colour against the snowy backdrop of the park.

Opening and Closing Times

The Park is currently opens at 08.00 and all gates will be locked at 17.00. Please ensure that you have left the park by 17.00.  From the 7th of February the park will close at 17.15.  Opening and closing times can always be found in the notice boards at the main entrances.

Events and Facilities

What can I see and do?

• Flower displays
• Conservatory
• Play area
• Multi Use Games Area
• Bowling greens
• Monuments and memorials
• Events and Activities
• Ice cream van (subject to weather)
• Road train rides (subject to weather)

Friends Group

We have established a Friends’ Group for Stamford Park. The Friends’ Group will support the park and contribute to positive improvements in the park at this exciting period in its history. We want the Friends’ Group to be representative of the park’s users and welcome new members.

Dates of future meetings:

10th February 2010 at 18.30
Stalybridge Civic Hall 

10th March 2010 at 18.30
Stalybridge Civic Hall 

7th April 2010 at 18.30
Stalybridge Civic Hall

Everyone is welcome so please do come along and get involved.

If you want any further information please contact Nicola Marshall on  0161 342 3348 or email Nicola Marshall 

History of Stamford Park

The history of Stamford Park is a long and varied one; it’s part of the history of Tameside and importantly part of local peoples’ history. The park is situated on the historic boundary between Ashton under Lyne and Stalybridge, that also being the historic boundary between Lancashire and Cheshire. Below is a very brief history of the park, covering the demand for a park, it’s opening and early years, the changes of the 20th century and the future of the park.

The need for a park

One of the first references to Stamford Park is in JR Coulthart’s Report on the Sanitary Condition of Ashton under Lyne which was published in 1844. At this time the industrial revolution was in full swing and social commentators across the North West recognised the poor health of mill workers and the desperate conditions people were living in. Across the region people began to demand, among other improvements, parks for people to enjoy on their day off. Coulthart stated that that the area lacked ‘convenient space for exercise…all classes of the town, particularly the operative classes would derive much physical and moral improvement from an enclosure of the kind, it is exceedingly desirable that Lord Stamford should grant land sufficient for such purpose’.

The need for a park was raised again in 1856 when a letter was sent to the Ashton Reporter suggesting that the cotton workers themselves should raise the money for a park and not depend on the generosity of the mill owners. Campaigning for the park began, funds were raised and a Committee established. The campaigned was boosted when a local mill owner, Samuel Oldham, died leaving £7,000 for the maintenance of a park as well as funds for the maintenance of an infirmary. By 1872 the Committee were able to instruct local solicitor Henry Darnton to negotiate the purchase of Highfield House and grounds. The house had been built and grounds laid out in 1830; it was the former home of Abel Harrison, a local cotton manufacturer until his death in 1865 when the site was put up for sale. A purchase price of £15,000 was agreed and the conveyance records the transfer of the land from the Earl of Stamford to the ‘Trustees of the Public Park for Ashton under Lyne and Neighbourhood’. The task then was to turn what had been a private estate into a public park.

The History of Stamford as a Public Park

Local supporters had wanted to employ Joseph Paxton (Birkenhead Park, Chatsworth, People’s Park Halifax) to produce a design but it went out to competition and a Mr Lindley won. However the contract eventually went to Gregory Gill of Stalybridge, who came second, because his designs were more ‘practicable, especially on the grounds of expense’.

Stamford Park was opened officially on the 12th July 1873 to great celebration. The previous day the Lord and Lady Stamford arrived and the towns of Ashton, Stalybridge and Dukinfield were decked out in bunting and flags. A crowd of 60-80,000 arrived on the day to watch the procession and opening ceremony. Following his speech Lord Stamford declared the park open; there was cheering, a fanfare of trumpets and the firing of cannon.

The park was smaller than it is today but featured a range of attractions including a bowling green, flower garden (including the star shapes we still see today), Highfield House (which opened as a museum in 1875) and various curving paths around shrubberies. The cock brook valley (now known as the Dingle) was also within the park although the mills on the other side of the valley were still operating.

Over the following two decades the park developed at pace, first incorporating more land into the park, and then developing the lake to ensure it was safe for boating and skating. Much of the work this period was carried out by Eaton and Sons, local architects who were responsible for the development of the boathouse, ticket office and tool house in the centre of the park. The development of the boating lake and ticket kiosk had other consequences – blue knitted jerseys and cloth caps were ordered for the gardeners to wear when they were operating the boating lake so they would be in keeping with the nautical theme! The late 1890s saw the improvement of the Dingle, and the introduction of the rockwork into this area by a Mr George Briggs of Ashton under Lyne. His father, Francis Briggs, had been landscape gardener to Joseph Paxton at Chatsworth and had trained his son in the design and building of rockwork. Swings and a ladies gymnasium were also added to the park at around this time.

Monuments and memorials have been added to the park all through its history to commemorate and remember both people and events. Among these the Joseph Raynor Stephens memorial was unveiled in 1888. The memorial was commissioned by local factory workers to commemorate the work Stephens had done promoting fair wages and working conditions. Other memorials included the Hannon Fountain; William Isaac Hannon was an important local botanist who had introduced wild flowers into the Cock Brook valley.

Into the 20th Century

The park progressed further in the early part of the 20th century, the Ordnance Survey Map of 1906 shows the layout of two additional bowling greens, model boating pool and a bandstand. The conservatory opened in 1907 and was donated by John Nield; it housed palms, bananas, orange, cotton and other subtropical plants. By the start of World War Two the railings and bandstand were removed from the park and ‘Holidays at Home’ were promoted. Stamford Park had always been the place for a ‘grand day out’ and this became even more important both during and after the War.

The 1950s saw the Coronation gates installed at Ashton and Stalybridge entrances, the demolition of Highfield House and the opening of the aviary, miniature garden and garden for the blind.

A New Era for Stamford Park

Stamford Park has been constantly evolving and we are about to enter a new stage of development. A bid has been submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a grant to restore the park and build a new pavilion. We are hoping for final news on this funding in late 2009. Keep an eye on the website and local press for updates.

Stamford Park Restoration 

Stamford Park, situated between the towns of Ashton under Lyne and Stalybridge, dates from 1873 and is registered grade II on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens due to it’s historic importance. The park is very well loved by the local community however it is lacking some of the facilities people want to see in the park. Following consultation with the local community Tameside MBC have developed plans for the restoration of Stamford Park which will enhance the park and its facilities enabling a wider audience to visit the park. The physical works will involve new buildings, landscape restoration, improved play and enhanced planting. As well as the physical improvements there will be an emphasis on improving staffing levels in the park, events and activities for a wide range of visitors and volunteering opportunities.

The new pavilion

The new pavilion building will be located at the heart of the park behind the current bowling pavilion. It will provide a central meeting point for visitors and will be an attractive welcoming space throughout the year. The pavilion will feature a café, toilets, Park Manager’s office and information point, and community rooms. Within the pavilion you will be able to buy a coffee, sign up to an event in the park, attend a class in the community room and meet friends.

The building itself has been designed by OMI Architects, a practice with experience of delivering high quality buildings. The building has been designed to incorporate best practice in terms of sustainability. It will be heated through a ground source heat pump, has a green roof which people can walk on to and enjoy views across the park, and has been designed to maximise natural lighting. The building will have a brick exterior with an oak cladding on some areas and has been carefully designed to complement the landscape. The glazed elements of the building will also have bespoke screens which will provide security at night but will also be an attractive feature of the building in their own right.

The Aviary

Consultation showed that the small animals and birds in the aviary were an attraction for most people. Many people had been taken to the aviary as young children and were now taking their own children and maintaining the tradition of family days out in the park. The restoration of the park has allowed us to consider what is needed for the animals in terms of their enclosure, sleeping areas, housing, and care. We have worked with architects to design a new aviary which will enable us to house the animals in secure and appropriate conditions whilst still providing good visitor access. The aviary will be the front, public facing wall of the new depot and therefore easily accessible to staff so they will be able to meet the welfare needs of the animals. Once the aviary building has been completed we will stock it with a range of birds and small animals and we hope it will again become a central attraction within the park.

Play

Stamford Park has always been a very popular park for families and the play area is the busiest in Tameside. We have carried out consultation and worked with landscape architects LDA Design to develop proposals for the new play area. The play area will include equipment for toddlers, children and teenagers in different zones reaching from the existing play area to the Multi Use Games Area. By increasing the space we are able to offer a different range of equipment and allow children of different ages space to play. The play equipment and the way in which the land is formed will encourage and enable more imaginative play for all ages and will also enable children with differing abilities the opportunity to play together. The play area will be within and surrounded by an informal picnic area including picnic benches as well as trees for shading.

The Dingle

The Dingle is an important part of the Park’s history and has changed in character significantly over the years. The rockwork which forms much of the Dingle’s character was constructed in 1898 by George Briggs, whose father Francis Briggs was landscape gardener to Joseph Paxton. The Dingle was very popular for strolling and the Tameside Local Studies Centre has fabulous photographs of ladies in period dress stood on the steps in the Dingle. The Dingle will be restored as part of the project and will involve repairs to the watercourses, rills and cascades and repairs to the stonework, a lot of which is now hidden from view and being damaged by trees growing through it. The principle footpath, currently prone to flooding, will be repaired and made accessible and there will be discrete interpretation along the path. Over the years the Dingle has become very overgrown with a lot of self sewn trees which are now blocking out growth and preventing a lot of ground cover plants from growing. As well as encouraging biodiversity removing some of the self sewn trees will also open up the sightlines within the park providing a greater sense of security within the Dingle. The Dingle is a very special place within the park and we intend to enhance the space so more people feel able to enjoy it.

Darnton Road Toilets

The public conveniences on Darnton Road are currently closed pending repair and refurbishment. The building structure will be repaired and both the male and female toilets are to be refurbished. A new toilet accessible for people with disabilities will also be included in the existing toilet block. Work is going to start in February and they will re-open in April. During this time the nearest public conveniences are in Stalybridge Town Centre.