With the development of civic public parks and cemeteries in towns around the country in the second half of the 19th century certain elements of such places became common, some, but by no means all, remaining so today.
Access paths (this including carriageways whereby those with private horse-drawn vehicles might enjoy the park without having to walk, and in the case of cemeteries also allowing access to hearses) were one recurring feature. More essential initially than later, surfaced pathways allowed perambulation independent of weather conditions and were a means of keeping walkers off the grass in the early days or a public park’s development when newly seeded ground and young trees were more vulnerable. Information on early surfacing materials seems to be rare, later tarmacadam became popular, apart from anything else it didn’t necessarily need an edging stone so hard surface and grass could merge. Chalk clunch may have been an early choice (if readily available in the locality) as with being compressed by footfall and the effect of rainfall it formed a sort of cement surface, while today wood/bark chippings provide a flexible option. In Loudon’s time (s.p.b.s) the perception of public parks was very much influenced by the principles of private parkland architects and grassed areas might be fenced-off from the walkways and sheep grazed on the grass of the park. Access to grassed areas soon became more liberal and the image of sitting or laying on the grass in the park became the norm – although the no-nonsense ‘Keep off the Grass’ signs may still be remembered by the older reader.
Places to sit, especially if the grass was wet or likely to stain one’s clothes, also became a common feature of parks. Even in the early days of King’s Lynn’s famous Walks (s.p.b.s) the main thoroughfare was edged by long simple benches. The photo above shows a pile of top-soil removed from a point in Eastern Cemetery, Hull where a new base is to be laid as foundation for a new bench. Eastern Cemetery has two areas for Muslim burial, this bench to be near the older area no longer used for burials.