Weston Park is the closest Public Park to Sheffield's City Centre and is probably best known for being the location of the Weston Park Museum, the City's oldest Museum.
The Museum closed in March 2003 for a major refurbishment and was due to re-open in the autumn of 2005. This renovation cost £17 million and was partly funded by National Lottery money. However major structural problems that were discovered during this refurbishment meant that the Museum only finally re-opened its doors to the Public on Saturday 14th October 2006.
The Museum is completely free to enter and is a fantastic place to visit but the rest of the Park should also not be ignored.
Weston Park covers a 5 acre site nestled between buildings that belong to the City's University and directly adjacent to the Children's Hospital. This location makes it one of the easiest Parks in Sheffield to get to by Public transport.
From the City Centre the number 60 Bus leaves the main Interchange Bus Station every 10 minutes whilst the number 51 and 52 leave High Street every 8 minutes. Other Buses including the 41 and 95 also run frequently throughout the day. There is also a Tram Stop at the University. If you are visiting by Car then parking is possible at the side of the main road in front of the Children's Hospital but this area does sometimes get rather congested.
There are four entrances
into/out of the Park, the largest of these being the one directly opposite the Children's Hospital, this is also the closest entrance to the Museum.
Weston Park was designed by Robert Marnock in 1873, a well respected English Landscape Gardener who had also designed the City's Botanical Gardens and the Sheffield General Cemetery as well as a large part of Regents Park in London and the Gardens at Eynsham Hall and Warwick Castle.
Weston Park was developed from the former Grounds of Weston Hall, a large house that occupied this area and was built in the early 1800's by Thomas Harrison, a well known saw-maker in the City. After Thomas Harrison's death the house was sadly demolished but the land was acquired by Sheffield City Council who commissioned Robert Marnock to create this Public Park.
Weston Park Museum is a Grade 11 listed building and housed the City Gallery during Victorian times which opened in 1875. There are also seven other structures within the Park that are also Grade 11 listed, all of which provide a fascinating insight into Sheffield's rich Industrial past. These include the main entrance Gates into the Park, The Statue of Ebenezer Elliot, The Statue of Godfrey Sykes, and an example of a rare Victorian Bandstand.
THE STATUE OF EBENEZER ELLIOT
The Statue of Ebenezer Elliot stands close to the entrance on Weston Bank, just below the main entrance. Ebenezer Elliot was born in Rotherham in 1781 and worked in the local Iron Industry. He was a non-conformist who hated injustice and had a real passion about the welfare rights and living conditions of local people.
He moved to Sheffield and began writing Poetry. His greatest achievement was to expose the injustice of the 1804 Corn Laws and his campaigns eventually got them repealed. These Laws put a tax on Food and this was particularly hard on the poor.
The Poems which Elliot wrote about the Corn Laws made him famous and he earned the nickname of the "Pauper's Poet." Today this collection of Poetry which contains 315 separate Poems are commonly referred to as the "Corn Law Rhymes."
Following his death in 1849 a Public collection in the City collected £600, a huge sum of money at that time, and this money was used to commission the Statue that we now see today. This Statue was designed by a Cornish Sculptor called N.N.Dunnard and shows Elliot sitting on one of his favourite Rocks in the nearby Rivelin Valley. This Statue was originally erected on High Street in the City Centre but it was moved to its present location in Weston Park in 1875 when High Street was dig up to make way for the City's Tram system.
THE STATUE OF GODFREY SYKES
The Statue of Godfrey Sykes stands in the middle of the Park. It is a tall, thin structure made of Stone and Terracotta that is painted White and stands almost twenty feet tall.
Godfrey Sykes was born in Malton, North Yorkshire in 1824 and moved to Sheffield when he was in his teens. He got a job as an engraver at the Sheffield School of Art and one of his earliest works was a study of the local Craftsmen.
In 1859 he moved to London where he supervised the decorative design of the Royal Albert and Victoria Museum.
This Memorial was designed by one of Godfrey's pupils, James Gamble and it depicts Sykes through three different stages of his life, Youth, Maturity and Old Age.
Godfrey Sykes died in London in 1865.
THE VICTORIAN BANDSTAND
This is the only surviving example of a Victorian Bandstand in a Sheffield Park. It was designed in 1875 by the Sheffield Architects Flockton & Gibbs but it was not built until around 20 years later.
This Bandstand was originally one of a pair, the other one being in Hillsborough Park at the other end of the City. The Hillsborough Park Bandstand was demolished before the Second World War, leaving its companion in Weston Park as the only surviving example. Both of these Bandstands were paid for by the profits of Sheffield's Electric Tram System.
This Bandstand in Weston Park was still in regular use until the middle of the 1970's.
One of the most interesting features about this Bandstand is that it has retractable Windows that drop down below the floor. This feature did not only keep the Musicians dry in bad weather it also helped to project the sound from their instruments.
EXPLORING THE PARK
Weston Park is quite small and compact and therefore very easy to explore on foot. The Footpath through the Park is nice and flat and paved with rows of Flower Beds at either side. The Path takes the shape of a figure "8" and walking around the full circuit will take you only around 10-15 minutes.
Within the Park there are a set of Public Toilets but these are currently closed due to vandalism and there are also four TennisCourts, which are free to use.
At the bottom end of the Park furthest from the main entrance there is a small Pond which has breeding Mallards and Moorhens. This area is very picturesque and is surrounded by short Grassy Lawns with Weeping Willows around the Water's edge.
The edge of the Weston Park is full of mature Oak, Beech and Sycamore Trees and these provide an Urban habitat for many Birds and Mammals. There are at least 2 pairs of breeding Tawny Owls in the Park and Grey Squirrels are both tame and plentiful. I have also seen Foxes here but these are quite shy and probably only usually come out at night.
The centre of the Park consists of large areas of open Grassland which is always cut short and well maintained. These areas are popular with Kids kicking Footballs around during the daytime, and other people just generally playing around.
The Park is also popular with Dog Walkers and Students. Many Students sit out here on the Grass on warm sunny evenings, often well into the early hours chilling out, but there is usually a good atmosphere and seldom any trouble.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Of all of Sheffield's Public Parks this is one of my favourites. I think that the fact that it is only small and compact gives it charm and character.
I also like the idea that it is very accessible and yet even though it is situated right in the heart of the built up part of Sheffield it is peaceful and quiet, the sort of place where you can just sit down for a few minutes and listen to Birdsong or simply People-watch and watch the World go by.
The Park is surrounded by the City's Hospitals and University Buildings which are amongst the tallest buildings in the City and at Lunchtimes the Park is popular with Nurses and other Workers that come here to eat their sandwiches on the Benches.
I have always loved the Museum and I was always fascinated by it as a small Child. However, I have deliberately not reviewed the Museum itself within this article because I have yet to visit it since its re-opening, but when I do, I know that it will be well worthy of a review of its own.
The only problem with this Park, as with many of the other Public Parks in the City it does occasionally suffer from vandalism. One of the most severe acts that occurred here was about 5 years ago when the main Pavilion in the Park was burnt down and completely destroyed. This was another Grade 11 listed building dating from the Victorian era, but the damage was so bad it was irreparable. The remnants of this Pavilion have now been completely removed and Shrubs have been planted in its place, completely disguising its former existence. A very sad reflection of the times that we live in.
A wonderful review. It sounds like such a peaceful place to visit. I really enjoyed reading it - I could almost imagine walking through the park myself. Di xx
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