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Handsworth Park Victoria Park Handsworth

Tonight on BBC 2 in the Gardeners World slot they were looking at Parks and our Hnadsworth Park was a part of the programme. It looked as though it was filmed on the day of the re-opening, I looked for you Paul but you must have bin hiding. ;)
 
I have to admit we always rode our bikes in the park in the 1950's.

I guess we were just lucky not to get caught. :angel:

Maybe we jumped off when we saw the park keeper. :2funny:
 
Di you are some Lady, what a talent you are!
lets have more of the Birmingham sites painted by your hand.
JUST GREAT.
ASTON
 
That is just how I r emember it but I like your painting better..

Shame we don't all live local to you Di. we could buy your paintings. :smitten:

Do they still have a shop at the park?
 
I was in Sea Rangers in the 60's and that is where we kept our boats, so we spent quite a lot of time there. O0
 
During our first summer together in the 50's Brian used to row me on the lake in a caonoe.
Here is a photo he took of the park.
 
I've got a Photo of the lake I'll try and dig it out, spent most of early days, I could see the Park and Lake from my Bedroom and the Parkes House. I didn't meet you did I Girls ::)
 
Do you remember any girls in boats with Sea Ranger hats on Alf. I bet you were the guys that were always sittting on the bank.
We painted our boats there as well.
Is there a causeway or dam on the left as you look at Di's picture, I think there are boat houses there?
You wonder whether your memory is accurate. ???
I am not sure I ever took a camara when we went there.
 
There was a causeway between the two pools the causeway was just past the Boathouse.

We had Tea and Biscuits in the Boathouse on Sundays :)
 
I know I'm knockin' on a bit now but is it just me or are we all getting confused between two parks, two lakes, two parkie's houses and two boathouses? I don't recall any causeway in Handsworth park, any boats other than those for hire and it certainly wouldn't be much of an achievement to swim across the lake. :-X
 
Those of us that are not so disciplined as you Paul got side tracked at reply #76

Sorry Rod, we are all so enthusiastic about our younger days and the memories come flooding back at the mention of a place we used to go to.

What a mess if you were not there to tidy up after us. O0

Paul - From what I remember of Handsworth Park it would be quite an achievement to swim across the pool. As it was fairly shallow, full of weeds and muddy bottom, never tried it though. :2funny:

Alf - 1958 was just about the time I started going to the unmentionable lakes with the Sea Rangers. Loved it. O0
 
Rod said:
The house is very like the one in Witton Lakes Park where my wife once lived
Click to expand...
it looks just like the one at Cannon Hill park main entrance too.

One model fits all maybe?? :)
 
A friend in the Civic Society bought a medal off eBay commemorating the 19thC opening of the Victoria Park Extension to Handsworth Park and has gifted it to me. It is the medal alone unlike the attached example. It is wonderful to have the medal to add to my collection of memorabilia, some of which I show to people who come on the History Tours I lead on Handsworth Park. Does anyone know where I might get a ribbon and clip like the one illustrated to attach to the medal I am now looking after.

By the way the next History Tour of Handsworth Park is at 1.00pm (for up to two hours depending on people's interest) on Sunday 10th September 2006 meeting by the Park Lodge just off the main Hamstead Road entrance of Handsworth Park. All attending get a complementary copy of my 40 page History of the Founding of Handsworth Park retailing the story of how a few farsighted people campaigned to raise the money to get it off the ground against often vociferous local opposition from some people who thought it would attract too many Birmingham people into the area! Enquiries to the Parks' Ranger Service 0121 303 2004 or email parks@birmingham.gov.uk or to me on 07775655842 s.j.baddeley@bham.ac.uk
 
Latest update:

As the weather was good, I went to have a look at the park this morning. It was wonderful. Sitting by the lakeside in the sun, watching the boats while I chobbled me ice-cream - it was like going back 45 years. The best part is the mixture of people using it now, everything from picnicking East Europeans, all the way through the spectrum to old fogies like me. For the first time in years, on a normal day, I saw a bloke on the bandstand that was neither a drug dealer or a drunk. All in all, I was very impressed.

I even came close to selling some of the photos I took of the opening when I heard an old girl asking her husband to take her home to get her camera as she was so impressed. It was only later that I decided my photos would be no good as there were none of me and that's what she really wanted, not the park. ^-^
 
I didn't see the question about who paid for the restoration of Handsworth
Park until now.

The Heritage Lottery Fund had a Millennium Parks fund especially for urban
parks to which Birmingham responded and won £4.7m. For that we can thank
Adrian Rourke and his team of Landscape Planners in Alpha Tower.

The HLF fund followed an agreement by Albert Bore to pay half a million in
matched funding as a sign of the city's commitment to the park. That came in
1999. I can show you a copy of Sir Albert's letter if you want. It was the
moment when after years of campaigning we felt able to share a few glasses
of champagne among members of the Handsworth Park Association  as it cleared
the way for the Millennium Lottery cash-after Adrian's team did their
superb bid-all four thick files of it!

This success brought further matched funding, assembled by Adrian R again
(he should get an honour for his behind the scenes work on the Handsworth
park project over a decade),from the European Regional Structural Fund that
pays for infrastructure projects all over Europe from an EU pool. That money
has helped rebuild a large part of central Brum. You see plaques to that
effect all over.

Then came more cash from SRB6 - Single Regeneration Budget-targeted inner
city money to good things in our area. Adrian negotiated that too.

Finally there was money from the developer of the Victoria Jubilee
Allotments site as part of their Planning Gain Agreement (officially called
a Section 106 A) with the Council ("we build houses on green space so we pay
back some of the cost of what's lost to the community. In this case about
£27,000 went to the park but we are still waiting for the three new playing
fields, allotments etc that are going to go on the VJA site and be
integrated into the park).

The total sum raised was I believe just under £10m. You can get more detail
from Adrian Rourke. This is what an ordinary interested member of the public
was allowed to know.

A trickier question is where that £500,000 that Albert found came from. Some
say it was from the sale of greenbelt land in Quinton. You win some. You
lose some!

The main point is that the money was only given by the HLF on the by that
the City Council agreed to balance the capital needed to restore the park
with the revenue needed to maintain it for the foreseeable future. There's
the rub. It is so tempting for the Council to get it's hand on that revenue
allocation (so vital for our rangers and wardens and security and tree
management etc) for other city projects.

We can never ease the pressure to maintain Handsworth park to the state it
was on 8 July 2006 when it was formally reopened.

You are very welcome to post this information more widely with the proviso
that it is my informed opinion as an ordinary citizen of the city
 
Sibadd, In reply 81 the ribbon what is on the medallion in the photo is the medal ribbon for the South African War medal 1939 -1945 which should not be used so if you want to display yours their are plenty to choose from and the best bet is if it has not got a hole bored through the medalion is to have a ring silver soldered onto it at the Jewelery Quarter and they will also sort you out with a mounting bar as well as ribbon
 
I take a lot of my repairs to Manna Brother's 16 Hockley St or any Jobbing Jewellers in Vyse St by the Railway station
 
Reading the previous posts, the Park Keeper's house is not to be confused with the cafe (where my mom worked). The cafe was situated near the bowling green and greenhouses, the park keeper's lodge was at the Hamstead Road entrance to the park. I know the cafe's long gone, but does anyone know the history of the building?
Great photos Cromwell - as per.
 
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