Queen's Park, Bolton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Queen's Park
Dobson Bridge in Queen's Park
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Type	Public park
Location	Bolton, Greater Manchester, England
OS grid	SD707093
Operated by	Bolton MBC
Status	Open all year

Queen's Park is a beautiful park in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It's shaped like a circle and covers about 22 acres. The park is on a gentle slope to the north-west of Bolton town centre. It first opened on 24 May 1866 and was called Bolton Park. Later, in 1897, it was renamed Queen's Park. This was done to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, which marked 60 years of her being queen.

The park has lovely flowerbeds, ponds where ducks swim, and a fun play area for kids. The River Croal flows through the lower part of the park. One special thing about Queen's Park is its collection of important statues. These statues are on the main terrace and include figures like Benjamin Disraeli, a former British Prime Minister. There are also statues of John Fielding, a cotton worker's leader, and James Dorrian, a popular local doctor. The building at the park's entrance, which is now a cafe, is also a special historic building, just like the war memorial.

Discover Queen's Park History

Queen's Park was created as part of a big plan to improve Bolton in 1864. The land was bought from the Earl of Bradford, and a landscape designer named William Henderson planned the park. Over the years, some of the park's original features have disappeared. These include the main pavilion building, the bandstand where music was played, and a large fountain.

The park used to have a natural history museum called the Chadwick Museum. It started in 1878 and opened in 1884. A man named Samuel Chadwick left money in his will to build it. His statue is in Victoria Square in Bolton. The museum building was taken down in 1957. All the interesting things from the museum were moved to a new museum in the town centre.

In 1969, parts of a film called Spring and Port Wine were filmed in the park. This movie starred the famous actor James Mason. In December 2009, Queen's Park received a large grant of over £4 million. This money came from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund. It helped to improve the park through their "Parks for People" program.

Famous Statues in the Park

The park has several important statues. They tell stories about people who were significant in history or to the local community.

Benjamin Disraeli's Statue

The statue of Benjamin Disraeli was the first one put in the park in 1897. He was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice. The statue was made from Yorkshire stone by Thomas Rawcliffe. It was put there by the town's leaders at the time. Some people thought it was a bit unusual because Disraeli didn't have a strong connection to Bolton. He did visit Barrow Bridge in 1840 to get ideas for his novel, Coningsby.

John Fielding's Statue

The statue of John Fielding was made from stone by a local artist, J. William Bowden. It was revealed in 1896. John Fielding (1849-1894) was born near Blackburn. He started working in a cotton mill when he was just 12 years old. He became a leader for cotton workers. He helped bring together different groups of spinning industry workers. This created a very strong and important trade union. After he passed away, money was collected to pay for his statue.

James Dorrian's Statue

The statue of James Dorrian was made from Portland stone by John Cassidy. James Dorrian (1828-1895) was born in Ireland. He came to Bolton around 1850 and worked as a doctor. He was very well-liked, especially by the poor and Catholic people in the area. He also served as a Justice of the Peace, helping with local legal matters. When he died, people raised money to create his statue.

Gallery

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  Entrance lodge (now a café)

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  Statue of Benjamin Disraeli

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  Statue of John Fielding

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  Statue of James Dorrian

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  Cenotaph