2011

SD9304 : Alexandra Park, The Promenade

taken 12 years ago, near to Lees, Oldham, England

Alexandra Park, The Promenade
Alexandra Park, The Promenade
ALEXANDRA PARK:
Job creation schemes are not only a modern phenomenon; Oldham’s Alexandra Park is an example of such a scheme from the mid nineteenth century.

The American Civil War had prevented the export of raw cotton from America and created “The Lancashire Cotton Famine” (LinkExternal link ) of 1861–1865 causing chronic unemployment in the Lancashire textile towns such as Oldham. The town council was offered a loan by the government of the day to purchase the Swine Clough Estate on condition that unemployed cotton workers were employed to carry out the work.

Work began in 1863 and the park was officially opened in August, 1865; an event commemorated by a blue plaque (SD9204 : Alexandra Park: Blue Plaque ) on the wall of the North Lodge. Somewhat ironically, the American Civil War had ended earlier that year and cotton was once more being supplied to the Lancashire mills. The park was given its name in honour of Princess Alexandra who had recently married Albert, Prince of Wales.

Although the “Cotton Famine Park” became somewhat run down in the latter half of the twentieth century, it has now been restored to its former glory with significant investment backed by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and was reopened in 2004 with refurbishment bringing a return to the near-original landscape as envisaged in 1863.

Alexandra Park is a Grade Two site of national importance on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England.

There is an excellent website (LinkExternal link ) which provides a history of Alexandra Park in postcards and photographs showing comparisons between its current appearance and views from the late nineteenth/early twentieth centuries. Some other links are given below:

LinkExternal link - The Cotton Famine (Wikipedia)
LinkExternal link Alexandra Park (Oldham Council)
LinkExternal link (Flickr group)


See other images of Alexandra Park, Oldham

Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright David Dixon and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Promenade at Alexandra Park [7] ·
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SD9304, 109 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
David Dixon   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Thursday, 20 October, 2011   (more nearby)
Submitted
Friday, 21 October, 2011
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SD 9329 0414 [10m precision]
WGS84: 53:32.0322N 2:6.1623W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SD 9335 0412
View Direction
West-northwest (about 292 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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