Late yesterday afternoon visited Pearson Park, Beverley Road, Hull to take some pictures to support my current main research project ‘History of Hull Parks and Cemeteries’. This was the first of Hull’s public parks and in many ways set a yardstick by which the provisions for later ones were funded. Created on land in the 1860s, then on the edge of the built-up area, donated by Zacharia Pearson a ship owner, businessman and twice mayor of Hull. Although in later parks land around the edge was initially allocated for house-building only here did it actually happen, so one interesting activity is to walk the perimeter and see the large, mostly Victorian, detached dwellings. Actually there are a surprising variety of styles; mock-Gothic, classical and at least one reflecting Arts and Crafts features. Further research is needed to see if they were built across a number of decades as seems likely. There has been some modern infill on land between certain 19th century properties.
The picture above, taken looking back through the Triumphal arch eastern entrance, shows a large mock-Gothic terrace between Beverley Road and the Park entrance as well as the original park-keeper’s house (somewhat hidden by trees) with its linear garden, both sadly now in poor condition. My research through Hull Corporation Minute Books at Hull History Centre has revealed that the park keepers got their house rent-free but that as a result their salaries were slightly lower than those of the park labourers.
Plans are afoot for the up-grading of facilities in Pearson Park this including the large conservatory currently closed and a new band-stand at a site known to be where the original one once stood.
Have decided that trees play a big part in defining an area I like, tree-lined streets being much more appealing than those without and the commitment to tree planting in public open spaces is to be applauded, this often much more so in the past than today.