Merton Priory Press
an independent publisher
of academic and mid-market history
including new titles and reprints
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For the People of Chesterfield For Ever
A Short History of Queen's Park
by Janet Murphy
Chesterfield’s first and largest municipal park was opened in 1894 as a memorial to Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee of 1887, when the project was initiated. Situated just to the south of the town centre, the park provided a ‘green lung’ for what was then a very congested built-up area with a great deal of slum housing. Queen’s Park offered pleasant walks, a boating lake, a bandstand, and one of the most attractive cricket grounds in the country. Like many similar municipal enterprises, Queen’s Park went into a decline in the late twentieth century, from which it has recently been rescued with the help of a Heritage Lottery Fund award, renewed interest on the part of the local authority, and an active ‘friends’ organisation, of which Janet Murphy is chairman. This booklet outlines the history of the park and brings together recollections by many local people of how they have enjoyed its amenities over the years.
Janet Murphy is also the author of Cricket In Chesterfield
