Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park facts for kids

The Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park is a large park in South Belfast, Northern Ireland. It covers almost 130 acres (about 0.5 square kilometers) and is easy to reach from the Upper Malone Road. This park has many different areas to explore, like open fields, woodlands, and riverside paths. You can also find beautiful rose gardens, a special walled garden, and a peaceful Japanese garden. For fun, there's a children's playground, a coffee shop, and an orienteering course. Many people enjoy walking the trails here. Belfast City Council owns and looks after the park. Every year, the park hosts the International Rose Trials, which is a big event during Rose Week, with judges from all over the world.

Discover the Park's Amazing Features

The City of Belfast International Rose Garden makes this park famous around the world. In the summer, you can see over 40,000 roses blooming here! These roses are in different sections, including trial beds where new roses are tested, and display beds for everyone to enjoy. There's also a historical section and a heritage garden that shows off the best roses grown by local experts. You can also visit the special Diana, Princess of Wales memorial garden. The rose garden and events like Rose Week bring thousands of visitors to the park each year. The park also holds International Camellia Trials, where different types of camellias are judged. If you look closely in the woodland, you might even spot red and grey squirrels!

A Look Back at the Park's History

The Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park was given to the people of Belfast in 1959. It was a gift from Lady Edith Stewart Dixon, who wanted to honor her husband, the late Sir Thomas Dixon. The very first roses were planted in the park in 1964. The trial roses were judged for the first time in the summer of 1965. A group of judges from the Rose Society of Northern Ireland, which was started by Craig Wallace in 1964, still helps judge the roses today.

Wilmont House: A Historic Building

Wilmont House is a grand building located inside the park. It was first built in the early 1760s by the Stewart family, who were farmers from Scotland. They were among the first people to grow a lot of carrots in the early 1800s. In 1811, an early threshing machine (a machine that separates grain) was set up on their property.

The Stewart family owned the house for almost 100 years. Later, in 1858, a man named James Bristow, who worked for the Northern Banking Company, leased the property. He then had the current Wilmont House built in 1859. It was designed by Thomas Jackson, a very important architect from Belfast. You can even see Bristow's initials carved in stone on the north side of the house.

The estate was sold to Sir Thomas Dixon in 1919. Sir Thomas was a successful businessman from Ulster. He was also knighted for his service. Lady Dixon was also honored for her important work helping the armed forces during World War I. She received the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).

Wilmont House has hosted important guests. In 1935, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, stayed there. During World War II, General Collins of the United States Army also stayed at Wilmont House.

Sir Thomas Dixon passed away in 1950. In 1959, Lady Dixon gave Wilmont House and the entire estate to Belfast Corporation (now Belfast City Council). She wanted it to be "for the greatest good of the citizens of the City of Belfast" in memory of her husband. The park opened to the public in the same year. From 1963 to 1988, Wilmont House was used as a nursing home. Lady Dixon passed away in 1964 when she was 92 years old.

The park also has a beautiful fountain that was updated. A new fountain was also added to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee. The Walled Garden used to grow fruits and vegetables for the house. You might notice a "dummy window" on the house, which is just painted on the brickwork to make the outside look balanced!

Images for kids

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  Japanese garden, 2002

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  Shady pond, 2006

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  Rose Garden, 2006

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  Meadow and woodland, 2006

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  Rose in International Rose Week 2006