Victoria Park, Portsmouth

Last updated

Victoria Park
Portsmouth Victoria Park.JPG
Looking east from the centre of the park.
Victoria Park, Portsmouth
TypePublic park
Location Portsmouth, Hampshire.
Coordinates 50°47′56″N1°05′38″W / 50.7990°N 1.0940°W / 50.7990; -1.0940
Area15 acres (61,000 m2)
Operated by Portsmouth City Council
StatusOpen all year
Memorials to the east of the park. Portsmouth Victoria Park memorials.JPG
Memorials to the east of the park.

Victoria Park is a public park located just to the north of Portsmouth Guildhall, adjacent to Portsmouth and Southsea railway station and close to the city centre in Portsmouth, Hampshire. It was officially opened on 25 May 1878 and was the first public park to be opened in Portsmouth. It was designed by Alexander McKenzie. [1] It has a total area of around 15 acres (61,000 m2) and is planted with trees, shrubs and flowers. The centre of the park features an enclosed area which houses animals such as birds, rabbits and guinea pigs. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Contents

The park is also home to a number of monuments, with several of them being listed buildings. [7] These mostly consist of obelisks but there is also one in the style of a Chinese temple [7] in memorial of HMS Orlando. [8]

At the start of December 2022 a £3.2 million redevelopment of the park began with DM Habens as the primary contractor. [9] [10] It was supported by £2.4 million lottery grant. [10]

Memorials

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portsmouth</span> City in Hampshire, England

Portsmouth is a port city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent. This means Portsmouth is the only English city not located primarily on the mainland. Located 74 miles (119 km) south-west of London and 22 miles (35 km) south-east of Southampton; Portsmouth is part of the South Hampshire conurbation. It is the most densely populated city in the United Kingdom, with a population last recorded at 208,100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Linford</span> Civil parish in Milton Keynes, England

Great Linford is a historic village, district and wider civil parish in the north of Milton Keynes, England, between Wolverton and Newport Pagnell, and roughly 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Central Milton Keynes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland Harbour</span> Port in Dorset, England

Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England. Construction of the harbour began in 1849; when completed in 1872, its 520-hectare (1,300-acre) surface area made it the largest human-made harbour in the world, and it remains one of the largest in the world today. It is naturally sheltered by Portland to the south, Chesil Beach to the west and mainland Dorset to the north. It consists of four breakwaters: two southern and two northern. These have a total length of 4.57 km (2.84 mi) and enclose approximately 1,000 ha of water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Edgar Boehm</span> British sculptor (1834–1890)

Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm, 1st Baronet, was an Austrian-born British medallist and sculptor, best known for the "Jubilee head" of Queen Victoria on coinage, and the statue of the Duke of Wellington at Hyde Park Corner. During his career Boehm maintained a large studio in London and produced a significant volume of public works and private commissions. A speciality of Boehm's was the portrait bust; there are many examples of these in the National Portrait Gallery. He was often commissioned by the Royal Family and members of the aristocracy to make sculptures for their parks and gardens. His works were many, and he exhibited 123 of them at the Royal Academy from 1862 to his death in 1890.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portsdown Hill</span> Ridge in Hampshire, England

Portsdown Hill is a long chalk ridge in Hampshire, England. The highest point of the hill lies within Fort Southwick at 131m above sea level. The ridge offers good views to the south over Portsmouth, the Solent, Hayling Island and Gosport, with the Isle of Wight beyond. The hill is on the mainland, just to the north of Ports Creek, which separates the mainland from Portsea Island, on which lies the main part of the city of Portsmouth, one of the United Kingdom's main naval bases. To the north lies the Forest of Bere, with the South Downs visible in the distance. Butser Hill can be seen on a clear day. The hill is formed from an inlier of chalk which has been brought to the surface by an east–west upfold of the local strata known as the Portsdown Anticline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exton, Rutland</span> Village and former civil parish in Rutland, England

Exton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Exton and Horn, in the county of Rutland, England. The population of the parish was 607 at the 2011 census. On 1 April 2016 the parish was abolished and merged with Horn to form "Exton and Horn".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southwick House</span> Building in Hampshire, England

Southwick House is a Grade II listed 19th-century manor house of the Southwick Estate in Hampshire, England, about 5 miles (8 km) north of Portsmouth. It is home to the Defence School of Policing and Guarding, and related military police capabilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portsmouth Guildhall</span> Municipal building in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England

Portsmouth Guildhall is a multi-use building in the centre of Portsmouth, UK, located on a pedestrian square close to the Portsmouth and Southsea railway station. Constructed in 1890, the building was known as Portsmouth Town Hall until 1926. It was heavily damaged by bombing during the Second World War and largely rebuilt during the 1950s by the English architect Ernest Berry Webber. It now operates as a concert, wedding and conference venue. It is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bramshott and Liphook</span> Civil parish in Hampshire, England

Bramshott and Liphook, formerly just Bramshott is a civil parish in the East Hampshire district, in Hampshire, England, on the main route from London to Portsmouth. Formerly local government was solely in the hands of the ecclesiastical parish, but in the 19th century became a separate, civil, entity. The parish includes the village of Bramshott, the larger village of Liphook and several smaller settlements, as well as a considerable area of mixed woodland and heathland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Hellyer (architect)</span> English architect

Thomas Hellyer was an English architect of the mid-Victorian era. He was based on the Isle of Wight and was "the leading Island-based architect of the period", but his works can also be found on the mainland—principally in Hampshire—but also further afield. Described by Pevsner as a "very individualistic" and "remarkable" architect, his output included churches, houses, schools and hospitals across the island, during a period of rapid urban development. Many of his buildings have listed status and he "made important contributions to the appearance of the city" of Portsmouth through his extensive work in the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portsmouth War Memorial</span> Memorial in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England

The City of Portsmouth War Memorial, also referred to as the Guildhall Square War Memorial, is a First World War memorial in Guildhall Square in the centre of Portsmouth, Hampshire, on the south coast of England. Portsmouth was and remains a port and home to a major naval dockyard. The dockyard and the armed forces provided much of the employment in the area in the early 20th century. As such, the town suffered significant losses in the First World War. Planning for a war memorial began shortly after the end of the conflict and a committee was established for the purpose. It selected a site adjacent to a railway embankment close to the Town Hall and chose the architects James Gibson and Walter Gordon, with sculptural elements by Charles Sargeant Jagger, from an open competition.

References

  1. O’Brien, Charles; Bailey, Bruce; Pevsner, Nikolaus; Lloyd, David W. (2018). The Buildings of England Hampshire: South. Yale University Press. p. 484. ISBN   9780300225037.
  2. "Victoria Park, Portsmouth history". Portsmouth Now & Then. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  3. "History of Portsmouth". Portsmouth City Council . Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  4. "Victoria Park, Portsmouth". Welcome to Portsmouth. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  5. "Conservation Area 18 - History" (PDF). Portsmouth City Council . Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  6. "Conservation Area 18". Portsmouth City Council . Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  7. 1 2 Headley, Gwyn; Meulenkamp, Win (1986). Follies a National Trust Guide. Jonathan Cape. pp. 84–85. ISBN   0-224-02105-2.
  8. "HMS Orlando".
  9. "Work starts to revitalise Victoria Park". portsmouth.gov.uk. Portsmouth City Council. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  10. 1 2 Walker, Tim (30 January 2023). "£3.2m plans for revitalised Portsmouth park to go on display". Hampshire Live. Retrieved 25 April 2023. 
  11. Historic England. "HMS Shah Memorial (1387252)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  12. Historic England. "HMS Orlando Monument, Victoria Park (1387248)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  13. Historic England. "HMS Victoria Monument (1387253)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  14. Historic England. "HMS Powerful Memorial (1387249)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  15. Historic England. "HMS Active Memorial (1387246)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  16. Historic England. "HMS Royal Sovereign Memorial (1387250)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  17. Historic England. "Monument to Admiral Napier (1387255)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  18. Historic England. "HMS Centurion Memorial (1387247)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 7 July 2023.