Telford Town Park is a park and Local Nature Reserve in Telford in Shropshire. [1] [2] In 2015, it was voted "UK's Best Park" in the inaugural public competition organised by Fields in Trust [3]
Telford Town Park is a park and Local Nature Reserve in Telford in Shropshire. [1] [2] In 2015, it was voted "UK's Best Park" in the inaugural public competition organised by Fields in Trust [3]
The Anglo-Saxon period saw the first real changes made to the area later to become Telford Town Park. Early settlers cleared woodland to create land suitable for farming. These became the starting points for places like Dawley, Stirchley and Malinslee, the key catchment areas that surround Telford Town Park ('Ley' is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning a clearing in the wood). In the 13th century much of the land around Stirchley was given to the Cistercian monks of Buildwas Abbey. It was these monks who built the original Grange at Stirchley and farmed the surrounding land until the 1530s. The relatively peaceful scene of small farmsteads separated by hedges and woodlands continued until the dramatic changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution. Valuable raw materials such as coal and ironstone were mined, and this produced enormous amounts of waste which created the pit mounds seen in the Park today. The Shropshire Canal ran through the Park and new industries grew up alongside the canal – iron furnaces, foundries and forges at Hinkshay and on the Stirchley Chimney site. Most of the industries belonged to the Old Park Company, set up by Isaac Hawkins Browne who lived at Stirchley Grange.
The Wellington Iron and Coal Company built the Stirchley Chimney in 1873; however, due to bankruptcy in 1877, the furnace seen today was never fired. This site was bought by the Wrekin Chemical Company in 1886 and used to manufacture naphtha charcoal and lime salts until the locals complained about the smell. The last mine, Grange Pit, closed in 1894; however, new industries soon arrived to produce kerbstones and paving slabs. By the 1960s industries had moved from the area leaving behind a trail of derelict remains soon to be reclaimed by nature. Despite all this industrial activity, plants and animals soon returned and as you follow the paths you will find mining and factory remains amongst the trees and meadows. The pit mounds evolved into small heathland and woodlands and hedgerows grew alongside the old canal and railway tracks and the quarries became pools.
More recently during the 1970s, Telford Development Corporation (TDC) developed what is today known as Telford Town Park. TDC's remit was to provide a 'Green Lung' for the people of the New Town and by 1984 the 170 hectare Town Park evolved. In 1992 the Park was handed over to what was then Wrekin Council which in 1998 became the new Unitary Authority the Borough of Telford & Wrekin, (recently changed to Telford and Wrekin Council). The original concept of the Park was to provide an area of green open space right in the heart of the new industrial town and with its central locality the Park is well served by a road infrastructure designed in the 1970s.
The London & North Western Railway's Coalport Branch Line ran through the park to Coalport via Stirchley & Madeley Market after the failure of the Shropshire Canal. This became the Silkin Way some years after the closure of the railway (then British Railways after nationalisation) to passengers in 1952 and to goods on 5 December 1960. [4] On 9 April 1980 the 2 ft (610 mm) gauge Telford Town Tramway was opened by the Reverend W. Awdry on the trackbed of the Coalport branch alongside Randlay Pool in the Park. [5] [6] The tramway only lasted a few years before it closed in the mid-1980s. The tram has since been preserved by the Telford Steam Railway running on its own circular track by Horsehay Pool. As well as the LNWR Coalport branch, a freight-only Great Western Railway branch from Hollinswood Junction on the Wolverhampton-Shrewsbury line just east of the present day Telford Central station, ran south through the park on the east side of what is now Randlay Pool, terminating near the Stirchley chimney. Opened in 1908, this short lived line was closed on 2 February 1959. [7] A footpath runs parallel to, and partly on, the alignment of this branch on the east side of Randlay Lake.
The Parks for People funding programme is a joint initiative between the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund, offering grants for projects that regenerate public parks of national, regional or local heritage value. Telford and Wrekin Council were recently advised of their Stage 2 approval and now move into the first year of the projects five-year delivery programme.
This 5-year Project kicked off in 2011 with the first contract to deliver the Park's Master Plan starting on site Summer/Autumn. Plans included a new Teenage Activity Area, new learning zones and picnic areas throughout the wider Park, and the restoration of key historic features. Work was due for completion Summer 2012.[ citation needed ] The majority of works took place in the central and southern area of the park therefore disruption was deemed minimal to the majority of Park visitors. The remaining Master Plan work will follow and includes improved pathways, the creation of a Nature and Heritage Trail, new gateways, signage and interpretation of the Parks history and wildlife. Additional benefits delivered by the Project including an enhanced events and activities programme, and additional maintenance and management activities, will become prominent from 2012.[ citation needed ]
The Park is located off Junction 5 of the M54, is within 10 minutes walk of Telford's main bus station, 5 minutes drive time from Telford Central railway station.
Telford parkrun is a weekly 5 km event for runners of all standards, which takes place every Saturday and has become extremely popular with people of all ages and abilities. On average 600 runners, joggers and walkers per week participate with help from volunteers. [8]
In the park is a memorial, unveiled in May 2010, to residents of the Telford and Wrekin borough area who died serving their country in all spheres since World War I. Sculpted by Malcolm Sear, whose workshops were at Jackfield, it incorporates a central ironwork poppy. The inscription, "Honouring those of this borough who served and sacrificed for us all", is shared between two pieces of Kilkenny stone. [9]
A memorial to commemorate the Holocaust was unveiled on Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January 2014 by David Wright MP and Dr Eve Clevenger. [10]
The 62 hectare Local Nature Reserve hosts woodland, heathland, grassland and pools that have developed as a result of the Park's industrial past.
The industrial history of the site is reflected in the habitats and wildlife that it now supports. Historically, the Park would have predominantly been broadleaved woodland. Due to the activities of Saxon land clearance and subsequent land management through the medieval ages, this would have been converted to a patchwork of arable farmland, grassland and copses. By the Industrial Revolution, much of the Park area would have contained spoil mounds and quarry pits with isolated remnants of woodland and grassland habitats. Since the abandonment of industry, the pit mounds and surrounding areas have reverted to heathland and extensive areas of grassland; the quarried areas have become lakes and ponds; and woodland, scrub and hedges have established elsewhere, including alongside the old canal and railway. This mosaic of different habitats now support a variety of wildlife including birds, invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, bats and other mammals. In recognition of the educational and amenity value of this biodiversity resource, a significant proportion of the Park has been designated as a statutory Local Nature Reserve (LNR) (Figure 1.1).
There are currently a number of endangered species in and around the park which have been discovered through previous surveys. These studies have shown that there were as of 2010 two out of Britain's sixteen species of bat nesting in the park. To protect these whilst work is going on in the park bat boxes have been put up around the area to house these.
The most noticeable mammal in the park is the grey squirrel in the wooded area. Other mammals likely to be present are small rodents such as voles, shrews and mice, although there is no confirmed data of these species being present. Four out of five of Britain's amphibian species reside within the park including the smooth and great crested newt. The only native species not recorded is the palmate newt. Amongst these newts the common frog and toad are also present. Due to the mixed woodland, scrub, water and grassland habitats within the park provides a range of suitable conditions for a good variety of birds. There are currently 60+ recorded species which do not include many common species such as herons and the black-headed gull.
Telford is a town in Shropshire, England. It is the administrative centre of Telford and Wrekin borough, a unitary authority which covers the town, its suburbs and surrounding settlements. The town is inland and near the River Severn.
Telford and Wrekin is a borough and unitary authority in Shropshire, England. In 1974, a non-metropolitan district of Shropshire was created called The Wrekin, named after a prominent hill to the west of Telford. In 1998, the district became a unitary authority and was renamed "Telford and Wrekin", which remains part of the Shropshire ceremonial county and shares institutions such as the Fire and Rescue Service and Community Health with the rest the county.
The Ironbridge Gorge is a deep gorge, containing the River Severn in Shropshire, England. It was first formed by a glacial overflow from the long drained away Lake Lapworth, at the end of the last ice age. The deep exposure of the rocks cut through by the gorge exposed commercial deposits of coal, iron ore, limestone and fireclay, which enabled the rapid economic development of the area during the early Industrial Revolution.
Oakengates is a constituent town of Telford and a civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. The towns parish population was recorded as 8,517 in the 2001 census.
Dawley is a constituent town of Telford and a civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. It was originally, in 1963, going to be the main centre of the 'Dawley New Town' plan before it was decided in 1968 to name the new town as 'Telford', after the engineer and road-builder Thomas Telford. Dawley now forms part of Telford whose town centre is north of Dawley itself.
Madeley is a constituent town of Telford and a civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. The parish had a population of 17,935 at the 2001 census.
Coalport is a village in Shropshire, England. It is located on the River Severn in the Ironbridge Gorge, a mile downstream of Ironbridge. It lies predominantly on the north bank of the river; on the other side is Jackfield.
The Shrewsbury Canal was a canal in Shropshire, England. Authorised in 1793, the main line from Trench to Shrewsbury was fully open by 1797, but it remained isolated from the rest of the canal network until 1835, when the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal built the Newport Branch from Norbury Junction to a new junction with the Shrewsbury Canal at Wappenshall. After ownership passed to a series of railway companies, the canal was officially abandoned in 1944; many sections have disappeared, though some bridges and other structures can still be found. There is an active campaign to preserve the remnants of the canal and to restore the Norbury to Shrewsbury line to navigation.
Ketley is a large village and part of Telford in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It is a civil parish. Immediately to the north of Ketley is Hadley.
Jackfield is a village in Shropshire, England, lying on the south bank of River Severn in the Ironbridge Gorge, downstream from Ironbridge.
Stirchley is a large village and suburb of Telford, in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. Stirchley lies just south-east of the town centre, and shares a parish council with neighbouring Brookside, which together have a population of 10,533 according to the 2001 census data It is close to Dawley and Malinslee and located next to the southern side of Telford town park. Although formerly a farming parish, it was incorporated into the Telford New Town in the 1970s. There are some important heritage sites in the parish, notably St James Church, Stirchley Hall, Stirchley Grange and the Stirchley Chimney, now a local landmark. A number of Stirchley's heritage sites are waypoints on the South Telford Heritage Trail. The former school was removed brick-by-brick and rebuilt at the nearby Blists Hill Victorian Town museum in 1993.
The Shropshire Canal was a tub boat canal built to supply coal, ore and limestone to the industrial region of east Shropshire, England, that adjoined the River Severn at Coalbrookdale. It ran from a junction with the Donnington Wood Canal ascending the 316 yard long Wrockwardine Wood inclined plane to its summit level, it made a junction with the older Ketley Canal and at Southall Bank the Coalbrookdale (Horsehay) branch went to Brierly Hill above Coalbrookdale; the main line descended via the 600 yard long Windmill Incline and the 350 yard long Hay Inclined Plane to Coalport on the River Severn. The short section of the Shropshire Canal from the base of the Hay Inclined Plane to its junction with the River Severn is sometimes referred to as the Coalport Canal.
The South Telford Heritage Trail is a circular, waymarked walking route that passes by forty-nine heritage sites in the English town of Telford.
The Stafford–Shrewsbury line is a former railway line in England, which ran between Stafford in Staffordshire and Shrewsbury in Shropshire, via Newport and Wellington, from 1849 to 1966. The Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company (SUR&CC) constructed and ran one of the few railways in England ever built by a canal company. The line served Newport and Wellington stations. The SUR&CC were solely responsible for the section from Stafford to Wellington; but the building and operation of the 10.5 mile (17 km)-long Shrewsbury-to-Wellington section was shared with the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway.
Baggeridge Country Park is located within the South Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. Its entrance is on the A463 just west of Gospel End, a small Staffordshire village just beyond the borders of the Wolverhampton, Gornal and the surrounding Metropolitan Borough of Dudley.
The Coalport branch line was a standard gauge London and North Western Railway branch line in Shropshire, England, which ran between Hadley Junction near Oakengates on the Stafford to Shrewsbury line and a terminus at Coalport East railway station on the north bank of the River Severn at Coalport.
Stirchley Chimney is a chimney located in Telford Town Park. The chimney also marks a notable waypoint on the South Telford Heritage Trail. Measuring 209 feet (64 m) high, construction of the chimney was completed in 1873.
Granville Country Park is a local nature reserve near Telford in Shropshire, England. It is owned by Telford and Wrekin Council, who work in partnership with the Shropshire Wildlife Trust and Friends of Granville.
The Silkin Way is a 14 mile walking and cycling route through Telford starting in Bratton and finishing in Coalport. In places the path follows the former Great Western Railway and the dry canal beds of the old Shropshire Canal and goes via Telford Town Centre and the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site. Along the route the Silkin Way runs close to the many natural and historical features within Telford and shows great contrasts between futuristic architecture, woodlands, and mature parkland.