Historic Princes Park Gates
Historic Princes Park gates to be restored
Feb 4 2008 by David Bartlett, Liverpool Daily Post
The gates at the entrance to Princes Park, on Princes Avenue, Toxteth, which are being prepared for renovation _320
A SET OF historic gates to a “little gem” of a Liverpool park are to be restored after campaigners raised health and safety concerns.
Work has started on the entrance to Princes Park, Toxteth of a £70,000 scheme to bring the gates and their pillars back to their former glory.
Veteran activist Gabriel Muies, who has been behind the campaign, hopes that the work could lead to the restoration of the rest of the park, which opened in 1918.
It is not known exactly how long the gates have been closed for, but council officials said it was at least a decade.
The gates will be taken away for complete restoration before they are brought back and reinstalled in the park in the spring.
Last night Mr Muies said: “I am highly delighted. We have been after this for years so that people can enjoy the park and also because of health and safety concerns.
“This is not only important for the park, but also because we have five listed buildings in Princes Road.”
He said the bowling greens, tennis courts and former boat house could also do with being rejuvenated.
“People need to realise what a little gem this park is for the city and how important it is.
“The council has to realise that this park has been neglected.”
A city council spokesman said: “We know that the local campaigners have wanted these gates restored and opened.
“It is something we have wanted to do and have now found money from the Neighbourhood Fund to pay for it.
“We hope that the gates will be back in place by spring.”
Meanwhiles Mr Muies’s campaign for the return of an ornate set of gates celebrating Liverpool’s maritime tradition which were lost to the Midlands more than half a century ago continues.
Known as the Sailor’s Gates, the Henry Pooley Gates were originally installed in the city’s old Sailors’ Home in 1850. However, after the Sailors’ Home was badly damaged in World War II, they were given to the Avery Historical Museum, Birmingham, in 1951.
Liverpool City Council is in discussions with Sandwell Council about the return of the gates so they can form part of a memorial garden on the site where the home used to stand in the new Liverpool One development.
davidbartlett@dailypost.co.uk
Princes Park Sunburst Gates
Fear not! Work has already started on the gates by stonework and metalwork conservation experts. The repairs are going to be rather more extensive than originally thought, due to their poor state and earlier botched repairs, but it is unlikely that the work will be shelved. In any case the Friends Of Princes Park are continuing to keep a watching brief over progress in the weeks to come.
If there is a downside, it may be that the familiar black and gold paint may have to be sacrificed: layer sample-taking has apparently revealed that originally the gates were of a single green colour. Anyone concerned about this may be interested to know that this issue is likely to be raised at the the next meeting of FOPP on March 4th.
Princes Park Flickr Group
Princes Park now has its own Flickr Group, which can be accessed at:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/princes_park
Anyone interested in this park and who wish to have a voice in its proposed refurbishment is welcome to join the Friends Of Princes Park.
Next meeting is at Bellerive School at 6.30 pm on Tuesday June 3rd 2008.
- empeebee
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Update on Princes Park Gates
Sorry that this info is rather belated, but anyone who doesn't like the new 'dull green colour' should not on this occasion blame the Corpy. The plan was to gild the central area of the Gates, thus preserving to some extent the 'sunburst' effect, and the money for this is still available. However, the project was cancelled at the last minute due to protests from people claiming to represent the Friends Of Princes Park, who objected to the gilding on the grounds that paint samples have not shown any historical basis for it. The council say they cancelled only out of a wish not to upset the local community.
At a previous meeting of the group when the issue was discussed a strong preference for the gilding was expressed and a number of the group are now unhappy that opposing views have been expressed in their name without any further consultation.
There is a meeting of FOPP tonight, Oct. 8th , at 6:30 pm at Bellerive School, Windermere Terrace, at which this issue is bound to be raised. There is a strong likelihood that the decision could be reversed if enough local people express their views
Anyone with strong views, for or against, or on any other issue relating to Princes Park is welcome to attend ? the only requirement is that you use the park!
Martin Bragg
Princes Park Status UPGRADED! Grade II* Historic Park
AN HISTORIC Liverpool park has had its status upgraded in recognition of its national importance.
Princes Park in Toxteth has had its status increased to a Grade II* Historic Park by English Heritage.
This makes it one of only three such parks in the city, along with Sefton Park and St James Cemetery Gardens.
English Heritage said it was the first major park created by eminent designer Joseph Paxton, and it inspired other designers.
Elements of Princes Park can be seen in other urban parks throughout the country.
The original look of the park is still intact and it is an important example of a green haven in a city setting.
Liverpool?s executive member for the environment, Cllr Berni Turner, said: "I?m so delighted Princes Park has been given the recognition it deserves.
"It really is a historical gem and it?s fitting that the park has been upgraded in Liverpool?s Year of the Environment."
"I would like to thank all those who have been instrumental in the upgrading of the park, including the Friends? Group, councillors and staff who look after the park and make it such an attractive place to relax and unwind in."
Ingrid Spiegl, a member of the Friends of Princes Park group, said: "It?s very exciting that such a wonderful park has been recognised.
"The upgrading will make a big difference as it means we can now apply for a Lottery grant to carry out further restoration work.
"We want to make people aware of the park?s historic importance and place in the city."
Princes Park was the concept of Richard Vaughan Yates, an iron merchant and member of a prominent Liverpool family. He commissioned Joseph Paxton, who had previously been head gardener at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, to design and lay out the new park.
It first opened as a private park in 1842 and it was not until 1918 that it passed into the hands of the city council and became fully open to all.
Nick Bridgland, part of the heritage protection team at English Heritage, said: "Princes Park is a key work of the highly influential landscape designer, Joseph Paxton.
"This was his first public park commission and helped establish him as an important and influential figure in the public parks movement. It definitely deserves registration at grade II*."
Some original features of the park, such as the Swiss boat house, have been lost, although some stonework remains by the lake.
The Doric Lodge, which was situated by the Sunburst Gates at the main entrance, was destroyed by bombs in 1940.
The landmark gates, representing the sun and its rays, together with their sandstone pillars, have already been restored.
The park also includes the gravestone of Judy the donkey, "the children?s friend" who gave children rides in the park for 21 years, dying in August 1926.
Liverpool Daily Post
The Gates: A Further Update
At their meeting on Jan.18th the Friends Of Princes Park received an assurance from Derek Dottie of Liverpool Parks and Gardens that the gilding work on the Gates will now definitely be going ahead, although we were not given a date for this.