Victoria Park, Leicester
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Victoria Park in Leicester, England is a public park of 69 acres (279,000 m2). It is in the south-east, just outside the city centre, backing on to the University of Leicester and close to the Leicester railway station.
History
[edit]The park was historically part of the South Fields of Leicester, and was used from 1806 to 1883 as a racecourse – a function that was then transferred to the purpose-built Leicester Racecourse in Oadby. It was opened as a park in 1882. A Victorian grandstand stood in the park until the mid-20th century, and was used as a pavilion after racing moved to Oadby. It was damaged by a German parachute bomb in 1940 and later demolished, with the new pavilion built on the same site and opened in 1958.[1] Leicester Fosse (who later became Leicester City Football Club) played here on various occasions between 1884 and 1890.
Facilities
[edit]It has facilities for various sports, including tennis, basketball, bowls, croquet, football and cricket. A skate park has recently[when?] been added, and there is an adventure playground for young children. The majority of the park is level, open grassland and the largest space in particular is sometimes used as a venue for outdoor events – in recent[when?] years these have included BBC Radio 1's One Big Sunday, the Leicester Caribbean Carnival, Leicester Pride and the Summer Sundae music festival, and BBC Radio 2 in the Park. Kasabian also had a sell out concert here with 50,000 tickets sold. A pavilion provides sports changing facilities, and is also the site of a cafe.
Landmarks
[edit]The park is home to two memorials. The Arch of Remembrance, a quadrifrons arch, was designed by Edwin Lutyens and built in 1923, to commemorate the dead of the First World War. The memorial, a Grade I listed building, stands at the top of an ornamental walkway ("Peace Walk") with gates (also by Lutyens) opening on to University Road. A smaller memorial near the cafe commemorates the American 82nd Airborne Division, stationed in Leicester prior to D-Day. The gates and lodges on the London Road side of the park were also designed by Lutyens and built in 1930.
Sport
[edit]A parkrun takes place in the park every Saturday morning at 9am.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ "Pavilion rises in place of Victorian version hit by bomb", Leicester Mercury, 15 January 2010, retrieved 2011-06-09
