Vale Park, New Brighton
{{Short description|Public park in Merseyside, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
{{Infobox park
| name = Vale Park
| photo = File:Vale Park, Wallasey (33).JPG
| photo_caption = Vale Park and Vale House
| type = Park
| location = New Brighton, Merseyside, England
| coords = {{coord|53|26|00|N|03|02|08|W|display=inline,title}}
| area =
| created = 1899
| operator = Wirral County Council
| visitation_num =
| status = Open all year
| website = [https://www.wirral.gov.uk/leisure-parks-and-events/parks-and-open-spaces/vale-park Vale Park]
}}
Vale Park is a historic Victorian park in New Brighton, Merseyside, England. It features formal gardens, a rose garden, and a bandstand. The park opened in 1899 and has hosted weekly brass band concerts through the summer months since the day the park opened.
Location
The park is on New Brighton Promenade with views of the River Mersey and Liverpool. It is a short walk from The Black Pearl driftwood pirate ship.{{cite web|url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/local-news/black-pearl-pirate-ship-new-6499285|title=In pictures: The Black Pearl at New Brighton one year on|first=Sean|last=Bradbury|date=12 January 2014|publisher=}}
History
The park opened on 20 May 1899 with the bandstand being added in 1926.{{cite web|url=http://www.newbrightonwalrus.org.uk/2016/09/vale-park-band-stand-is-90-years-old/|title=Vale Park Band Stand is 90 Years Old – WALRUS|website=www.newbrightonwalrus.org.uk}}
Vale House, built circa 1830, was originally a family home. The family of Charles Holland, a Liverpool businessman and Wirral justice of the peace, lived here for over 50 years. Holland traveled widely and returned with botanical specimens that his gardeners planted, many of these plants and trees grace the park. The first Head Gardener of Vale Park was William Grinsell Burston, an expert botanist. Most of the design of the flowerbeds and footpaths were his. He died at Vale House in 1918.{{cite web |url= https://www.wirral.gov.uk/sites/default/files/all/Leisure%20parks%20and%20events/parks%20and%20open%20spaces/Vale%20Park%20Management%20Plan%202012-2017%20updated%20Jan%202016.pdf|title=Info |website=www.wirral.gov.uk |page=10}} Vale House is now a community cafe{{cite web|url=http://www.valehousecafe.co.uk|title=Vale House Cafe|website=www.valehousecafe.co.uk}} and community centre.{{cite web|url=http://www.valehousecommunitycentre.co.uk/about/a-brief-history-of-vale-park|title=A Brief History of Vale Park - Vale House Community Centre|last=Designated|website=www.valehousecommunitycentre.co.uk}}
Features
The park has formal gardens, a children's play area, a cafe, toilets, a rose garden, annual bedding displays, open grass areas, a kick about pitch, a fairy garden, and outdoor fitness equipment.{{cite web |url= https://www.wirral.gov.uk/sites/default/files/all/Leisure%20parks%20and%20events/parks%20and%20open%20spaces/Vale%20Park%20Management%20Plan%202012-2017%20updated%20Jan%202016.pdf|title=Info |website=www.wirral.gov.uk |page=8}}
Brass band concerts
File:Vale Park, Wallasey (30).JPG
The park features brass band concerts{{cite web |url= https://www.wirral.gov.uk/sites/default/files/all/Leisure%20parks%20and%20events/parks%20and%20open%20spaces/Vale%20Park%20Management%20Plan%202012-2017%20updated%20Jan%202016.pdf|title=Info |website=www.wirral.gov.uk |page=10}} under the bandstand each Sunday through the summer months. Entry is free, with deck chairs provided for seating. Brass bands have been present since the day the park opened, when the Tranmere Prize Gleam Silver Band played the crowd in through the gates with the British National Anthem.{{cite web|url=http://www.historyofwallasey.co.uk/wallasey/Vale_Park/index.html|title=History of Wallasey – Vale Park|website=www.historyofwallasey.co.uk}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
{{commons category|Vale Park, New Brighton}}
{{Parks and Commons in Wirral Borough}}
Category:Parks and commons in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral