The old pictures of the Queens Park Crewe are printed with kind permission of Gordon Davies who
I have known for over 30 years. They are taken from his books Memories of Crewe which can
be obtained from any good book shop. He has a series of books showing Crewe life through the years.
The Queens park Lake
An
exceptional feature of the Park is the extensively landscaped
man-made lake. The lake was created
by the use of a dam on the west
side of the River Waldron (Valley Brook) way back in 1883, flooding
about five acres of land. As well as the creation of a dam, an area
around the River Waldron to a
depth of about five feet was dug out.
Then by the method of "puddling" the clay, the bottom was made
water-tight.
The picture of the Lake in 1947 note the Tipkinder slag
heap which is now the Skate park top left
The Home Guard in the Queens Park 1940
The Jubilee Pavilion
The Cafeteria standing behind the Memorial is aptly named the
Jubilee Cafeteria to commemorate
the Jubilee of Her Majestry Queen
Elizabeth II, being officially opened on 12th June 1977.
This modern
structure along with the bandstand was built to replace the
Victorian Pavilion
which unfortunately had burnt down.
Cottage Hospital fete 1906 crowds watching tightrope
walking across the lake
Queens park 1988 you can see the band stand and
pavilion to the left and the clock tower top right
1910 the pavilion and the war memorial which was
unveiled in 1903 the pavilion was burnt down by arsonist in 1970
The park in its infancy 1906
The pavilion 1904 from across the lake
Boer war statue
The main walk way 1914
The main entrance to the Queens Park
The Park Lodge Gates
There are four gates - east, west, south and the main gate. The main
gates are supported
by four red sandstone gateposts. Each post has
emblems surmounted upon them. The gates
themselves are very
impressive, made in ornamental ironwork. The two side gates have the
date of the dedication (1887) moulded into the ironwork, whilst the
main gate is surmounted
by a royal crown. In the apex of the roof on
both lodges facing Victoria Avenue are two
unique witticisms on the
two people who the park owes its very existence to. On the east
lodge is a painting of a bat, moon and tree in yellow and green. A
pun oa Sir Richard Moon,
Chairman of the LNWR Company. Whilst the
west lodge has a spider's web, a tree and a spider,
a pun on Francis
William Webb.
The park in the 1900 used for swimming as the baths
weren't built until 1937
The old bridge across the lake at the turn of the century
Original wooden bridge over the lake.
was erected. Four bridges, originally wooden, and surrounding paths
make a popular walking
circuit around the lake. After the culverin
of Valley Brook, which ie cuivemng or valley BrooK,
was improved the quality of the water,
swimming was permitted. By the West island the water
area was
deepened to ten feet and a diving board and changing huts were
provided which were
eventually removed
The old bridge across the lake June 1988
More pictures of the lake with the island in the centre
Woodland walk near the aviary
Coronation walk
The walk runs
from the
lake back to the foot
of the main entrance. Designed in 1935 by Herbert Probert,
it is
a superb landscaped valley complete with an artificial stream,
it holds many surprises. Thought at
the time of construction it
might possibly be named the Francis Webb Memorial Garden it was
e
ventually called Coronation Walk in 1937.
I am reliably informed
there is in excess of 100 species, ranging from Oak, Ash, Beech,
Conifers,
Yews, Irish Yews, as well as Laburnum and some
beautiful scented Hawthorns. Most trees
that readily come to
mind one could find within the Park, far
too
many I hasten to add
for me t
o mention. Of course there are many unique trees, like
the twisted Willow, the Canadian Balsam
and my favourite, the
Cedar of Lebanon, nicknamed the "monkey tree" by generations of
Crewe children.
Main Entrance to the park On entrance into the Park down
Central Drive from the gates stands
the impressive Jubilee
Clock. Donated by the employees of the Railway Company and built
in 1888.
The tower has four large clock faces surmounted by an
elaborate support for the weather vane.
The tower is a Grade 2
listed building and is of stone and brick construction
Lake with the bandstand top left
Lake the bottom end near golf coarse
Lake and boat house
Pavilion and statue 1963 Continuing along Central Drive, built
for horse drawn carriages, the
South African Memorial stands
impressively in front of the Pavilion. Flanked by a sloping
bedding
display the statue is 31ft high and made of Labrador and
Aberdeen Grey granite. Topped by the
life-like figure of Tommy
Atkins. The north facing side is the only place where the former
Arms
of the Borough with the moto "Never Behind" can still be
seen.
The Copper bronze plaques on the four sides of the monument give
the names of the railway
volunteers who served in the Boer War
(1899 - 1902). Crewe can quite rightly feel proud that
through
the railway volunteers they were able to send more men to the
Boer War than any other
town in England or Wales of comparable
size.
Walk near the aviary
Park pavilion from across the lake
