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Description: The People's Park

Address: Peoples Park King Cross Street Halifax West Yorkshire

Grade: PKIIST

Group detail: Public park designed by Joseph Paxton completed in 1857

Full description:
SUMMARY OF HISTORIC INTEREST Public park designed by Joseph Paxton (1803-1865) assisted by Edward Milner (1819-84) which was completed in 1857. HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT People's Park was presented to the town of Halifax by the manufacturer Sir Francis Crossley who is said to have conceived the idea while enjoying the 'grand scenery of the White Mountains' in America (Chadwick, 1966). Crossley commissioned Paxton to design the park which was laid out on an area of open fields, as shown on the 1848 OS map. The park provided for quiet enjoyment of the scenery and for walking, and all meetings, games and dancing were forbidden. Crossley made an endowment which initially provided enough money for maintenance but gradually reduced in value, so that Halifax Corporation had to take over responsibility. The park is a public park owned by Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council. It is currently (2000) undergoing restoration. DESCRIPTION Location, Area, Boundaries, Landform, Setting The park lies c 1.5m south-west of Halifax in an area which is largely residential. It is bounded by Park Road on the east side, which was laid out in 1856 with six pairs of villas designed by John Hogg (listed grade II). A wall along this side of the park is surmounted by ornamental cast-iron railings (late C20 reproduction of originals by Brooks of Brighouse, which were removed during the Second World War), and this continues along the northern boundary with Hopwood Lane for a distance of c 120m, where there is an entrance, from which point there is a stone retaining wall. Sir Francis Crossley'