| Markeaton
Park - the history |
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| The
Orangery at Markeaton Park |
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Markeaton
Park is the most used leisure facility in the city and is popular
with children, adults and families. Located on the west side of Derby,
it is easily accessible from the A38 and the A52. |
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Markeaton
Park was originally part of the Markeaton Hall Estate, owned by the
Mundy family from 1516.
In 1929, the Hall and twenty acres of its gardens were given to the
Corporation by the Reverend Clarke Maxwell who had inherited the estate
from the late Mrs Mundy, on condition that the whole area would be
used as a public park and that the mansion would be maintained for
some municipal use.
 Markeaton
Park - today
The other 180 acres of the park were bought by the Corporation in
1930.
This sale would have been in accordance with the wishes of the late
Mrs Mundy, who had always taken an interest in the town and had herself
previously donated land to public use.
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| The
Markeaton Park lake |
In 1903,
she donated five acres for use as a recreation ground, and the origins
of the Mundy Play Centre date back as far as 1924, when Mrs Mundy
gave several acres of land near Kedleston Road to the people of Derby,
on which a children’s playground was constructed - then known as ‘the
Mundy Playing Field’.
The park was officially opened by the Duke of Kent in June 1931, on
the same day as Darley Abbey Park.
In 1933, work began to increase the size of the lake, which was opened
in July 1934 in a ceremony attended by thousands.
At
the end of the ceremony the Mayor and other officials took a trip
round the lake in a motor boat.
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| A
view of part of the craft village |
The layout
of the park has changed very little since its opening, other than
the area around the Hall itself.
In a dilapidated state and requiring costly renovations, the Hall
was demolished in the late 1960s and replaced by a landscaped terrace.
The Orangery remains, however, and today houses the park’s cafeteria.
In fact the Orangery is a listed building.
The former stables of Markeaton Hall also remain, and are now home
to the Markeaton Craft Village, set up in 1987.
The village is made up of a number of individual units where visitors
are able to watch skilled craftspeople at work, making furniture,
ceramics, stained glass and other products.
Markeaton
Park - today
More
Parks |
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| Contact
Us |
BBC Derby
PO Box 104.5
Derby
DE1 3HL
(+44) 01332 361111
derby@bbc.co.uk |
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