St James' Park, Southampton facts for kids
St James' Park, Southampton is a fun green space in the Shirley, Southampton area. It's right across from St James' Church, Southampton and close to Winchester Road. The park is surrounded by homes, some of which are very old! A group called The Friends Of St James' Park (FOSJP) helps look after the park. They even run a cafe and put on cool events for the community.
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History of St James' Park
This park wasn't always a park! In the mid-1800s, as the Shirley area grew, houses started to appear around this piece of land. At first, it was just open land where animals might graze.
From Field to Park
Over time, the land changed. It became a nursery where plants were grown. Later, it was used as a gravel pit, which means people dug out gravel from it. This is why the park looks a bit sunken today – it's a cool feature! In 1907, the local council bought the land. After some work to make it beautiful in 1911, it officially opened as a public park for everyone to enjoy.
The Railway Myth
For a long time, there was a popular story in Southampton. People believed that St James' Park was supposed to be a railway station! This station would have been part of a railway line called the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway.
Unbuilt Railway Plans
However, old railway plans show that this story wasn't quite true for the first railway ideas. The original railway route was planned to go through different areas. It would have passed through places like Chilworth and Lordswood. This early plan would have gone near Shirley Junior School, but it didn't include the park itself.
Later Railway Ideas
Later on, there was a new idea for a railway, called the Southampton and Winchester Great Western Junction Railway. This plan, from 1901, actually did show the railway going right through St James' Park! It would have crossed the park from east to west. There were even talks about buying land for this project. But in the end, none of these railway plans for this area ever happened. They stopped before World War One began.
