History
A brief history of Palfrey Park
The summary below provides a brief insight into the beginnings of the park and the key phases of its development.
Evolution of Palfrey Park
Early in the 1880s the Local Authority recognised the need to provide a public recreation ground in the rapidly expanding St Georges Ward and the then socially deprived manufacturing area of the Black Country.
Land was acquired by the authority in 1881 and approval was granted in 1884 for the creation of a recreation ground at a cost of £1,500 to be called ‘The St George’s Recreation Ground’.
The borough surveyor Mr Arden Hardwicke under the guidance of the General Purposes Committee was commissioned to design the new recreation ground.
The opening of the park
The recreation ground was formally opened to the public on 29 May 1886 with a Grand Ceremony attended by the Mayor involving the unlocking of the gates to allow entry to the public.
The following is a short section of an article reported in the local newspaper, the ‘South Staffordshire and Walsall Chronicle’
‘On Saturday last the new recreation ground for St. George’s Ward, which has just been completed, was formally opened and dedicated to the public by his Worship the Mayor T. Evans, Esquire.
The ground which is close to the Palfrey Board School, contains about eight acres, and nearly the whole of it is smooth turf, on which the children of the neighbourhood can deport themselves without danger. A walk, however runs around the whole, so that those who wish to take a ‘constitutional’ can do so under the most comfortable circumstances. Between this and the unclimable fence which surrounds the whole are beds, which are being planted with shrubs and flowers, which will very soon add greatly to the beauty of the place.
Around the new park small houses are almost daily increasing in number – indeed, the chief growth of the town appears to the on that side. Year by year the population must increase in density and to have a large open space in the midst of it, and a space, too, specifically set apart for the recreation of the inhabitants, is a boon’.
The recreation ground occupied eight acres of land acquired from the late George Griffin in 1881 and from accounts taken at the official opening ceremony the original layout of the park was of a very formal nature with a promenade around the boundary of the park lined with flowerbeds.
Soon after the official opening, the council renamed the recreation ground Palfrey Park. Although it is not documented in Council Minutes as to the reason for the change in name it is assumed that this change reflected the creation of a new Ward for the rapidly expanding new communities around the park taking the name of the original settlement known as Palfrey Green.
The development and growth of Palfrey Park
Continuing local demand and desire before the turn of the century led to the installation of a bandstand in 1891 and shelter in 1899 in the park. By the turn of the 20th Century the park was very popular with the public with regular concerts and frequent events as well as use for informal passive recreation.
In 1922, tennis courts and a bowling green were laid out to meet the pressure for more sports facilities in the park and by 1924 the pressure on the park to cater for the rapidly expanding urban area and demand for available space to cater for both passive and active was too great.
In 1924, the authority purchased an additional eight acres of land to the south of the park and by the end of the year work had commenced on laying out an extension to Palfrey Park.
The park continued to grow and expand to meet local needs during the 1920s and 1930s including the purchasing of a lodge for use as a park keeper’s lodge and provision of public conveniences.
An era of decline
Following the growth and expansion of the park from its inception, the park entered a transition period during the 1940s with the removal of the parks railings to support the war effort together with a number of other key features including the bandstand.
The park however still remained popular and during the 1960s and 1970s additional pitches and facilities were added to the park. These included the addition of a second bowling green and hut, shelter, small pavilion, all weather kick around area and a new play area.
Eventually, the park ceased to change and in the 1970s and 1980s began to decline with a loss of facilities and lack of improvements.
The decline of Palfrey Park can be seen as a result of a number of factors including the mis-match between the historic framework and changing local demands, which was further frustrated by the lack of available public funds. It is clear however that it was not as a result of a lack of local interest or use.
A new vision
In the late 1980s and early 1990s Walsall Council launched the Metro Parks Initiative and secured funding from the City Challenge Regeneration Programme to develop and enhance Palfrey Park through a range of infrastructure improvements.
Following extensive public consultation a five year Development Plan for the park was produced in 1995 and as a result in 1996 a group of local people and park users re-formed the Palfrey Park Friends and Users Association (the group had previously been established in 1991), with an unprecedented commitment to restore the park to it’s former glory and regenerate the park for the present and future needs of the local community.
The successful partnership between the council and the Friends and Users Association has been the catalyst in contributing significantly to an upturn in the park’s fortunes. The shared vision led to the production of a locally owned restoration master plan to guide the long term restoration and regeneration of the park which has guided the delivery of the £1 million five-year Restoration and Regeneration Programme (2002-2007) and the acheivement of the national Green Flag Award in 2007.
Contact us
Palfrey Park
Dale Street
Palfrey
Walsall
WS1 4AN
Telephone 01922 654370 (Parks hotline)
Email parksmanager@walsall.gov.uk