Tree planting on Thursday November 10th, 2022, by the Duke of Devonshire
Tree planting on Thursday November 10th,
2022, by the Duke of Devonshire, in Princes Park Liverpool, and Birkenhead Park,
Wirral to celebrate Joseph Paxton, designer of both parks.
The Duke will be accompanied by both
Friends’ groups and the Deputy Lord Mayor of Liverpool and the Mayor of Wirral.
The 12th Duke of Devonshire is planting a Chinese
tulip tree in each park on Thursday November 10th to celebrate the
life of Joseph Paxton, designer of both parks. The Duke will be accompanied by
the head gardener from Chatsworth Estate, Steve Porter. They will be joined in
Liverpool for the morning planting by The Deputy Lord Mayor, and in
Birkenhead for the afternoon planting by the Mayor of Wirral.
The Duke will be planting a third tree at his Chatsworth
estate, where Paxton was head gardener for many years from 1826-1858, and which
itself owes much to Paxton’s brilliant work.
Birkenhead Park is celebrating its 175th anniversary this
year. Princes Park was opened 5 years earlier and is celebrating its 180th
anniversary. The Duke’s visit is hosted by the Friends of Birkenhead Park and
the Friends of Princes Park. The two Friends
groups have an excellent relationship, nurtured when, after the Duke’s last
visit to Princes Park in 2014, both groups visited Chatsworth Estate at his
invitation. Both Friends groups feel that this is a great opportunity to
celebrate Joseph Paxton, who we feel has been under appreciated in Merseyside
to date.
Princes Park, Grade 2* listed, in Toxteth, has developed from
neglect in the 80s and 90s, to a vibrant focal point for families and
communities from Liverpool 8 and beyond today. During the recent pandemic the
park was a haven for both people and wildlife. While working as head gardener
of Chatsworth Estate Joseph Paxton designed Princes Park, one of the first private
parks in England to have a public space within it. The park has unexpected
views and winding paths, characteristic of Paxton’s work.
The 6th
Duke of Devonshire was a mentor and friend to Joseph Paxton. Paxton, a man of great
vision, went on to design, with collaborators, Birkenhead Park. Later, in 1851,
the Crystal Palace in London was amongst his many achievements. John Robertson
worked with Paxton on the design of Princes Park and later Birkenhead Park, and
his descendant is an active member of the two Friends groups today.
Birkenhead Park, Grade 1 listed, is one of the UK’s foremost
historic parks. It was the first municipally funded public park in the UK, and
the inspiration for the creation of Central Park in New York. Like Princes Park,
Birkenhead Park is a special place and a masterpiece of landscape design.
Paxton created a place replicating the English pastoral countryside, while at
the same time incorporating features such as lodges, bridges, and a boathouse.
Since it opened in 1847, Birkenhead
Park has provided a much-needed haven for active recreation with its cricket
clubs, a place for strolling and contemplating nature. Wirral Council, with the
support of the Friends of Birkenhead Park, is currently seeking its inclusion
in the UK’s Tentative List for inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Both parks will install, in addition to the tree, a stone
plaque commemorating Paxton, laid in the ground by the tree. Each park will,
also have a Paxton Blue Plaque installed.
In Princes Park the Duke and Deputy Lord Mayor will visit the
proposed site for the new Mandela bridge to the island. Originally there was a
Chinese bridge at this site, like the Swiss Bridge in Birkenhead Park. The new
bridge will be modern and minimalist. Princes Park has become a place for
remembering Nelson Mandela, and community organisation Mandela 8 is organising
the island space and bridge work. Children from St Silas primary school will
join the Duke in planting the Princes Park tree.
In Birkenhead Park the Duke and the Mayor of Wirral will join
both Friends’ groups, councillors, and council officers for a buffet in the Visitor
Centre before the tree planting.
https://www.friendsofprincesparkl8.org.uk/the-park/joseph-paxton
https://www.fbp.org.uk/the-park/chatsworth-connection
https://birkenhead-park.org.uk/explore/the-peoples-garden/