Wavertree Playground - The Mystery

Wavertree Playground, also known locally as The Mystery was one of the first purpose-built public playgrounds in the United Kingdom. In May 1895, a stately home called "The Grange" was demolished and it looked inevitable that the estate it was based within would used as building for the increasing suburbs of Liverpool. Much to the surprise of Liverpool society, it was however announced that an anonymous donor had purchased the Grange


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Map of the Playground

The donor had levelled and grassed the area - eradicating the ornamental lake that was once a feature of the grounds - and suggested the name 'Wavertree Playground'. It was to be a venue for organised sports, and a place for children from the city's public schools to run about in, not a park for 'promenading' in the Victorian tradition. He expressed the hope that the City Council "might approve of giving it a fair trial for this purpose ... before appropriating it for any other use".

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