Victoria Park St Ann's Nottingham

Victoria Park playground 1960s

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Victoria Park St Ann’s Nottingham

The first recorded mention of the site on which Victoria Park now stands was on the 1845 Nottingham Enclosure Award map where it is referred to as the Meadow Platt Cricket Ground. From then on, as the area surrounding it was developed, it became a well-used recreational space.

By 1876, the council was looking at ways to improve the site as there were an increasing number of complaints about incidents of anti-social behaviour in the area.

In 1878 the first mention was made in council records of the drainage problems which afflicted the site. At that time, iron grates were installed to help drain away surface water. However the drainage problems persisted and in 1883 a local company, Foster and Barry, were awarded the contract to build the Beck Valley Storm Water Culvert – a large drainage scheme designed to alleviate flooding and the public health problems it caused in Nottingham.

Foster and Barry used large section of the recreation ground to store materials needed for the project.

One result of the project was the building of the small stone tower which still stands today in Victoria Park – initially an access shaft to the Beck Valley Storm Culvert tunnel during its construction and later a ventilation shaft for the culvert.

Work on the Beck Valley Storm Water Culvert was completed in 1885 and the council began a programme of improvement on the site.

Throughout all this time the site did not have a consistent name – it was variously referred to as the Bath Street Cricket Ground, the Bath Street Recreation Ground and the Robin Hood StreetCricket Ground.

Throughout the 1880s and into the 1890s drainage problems persisted as did the problems of anti-social behaviour. In 1891, 557 local residents signed a petition asking for improvements to the site, this resulted in Arthur Brown, the Borough Engineer of the time, being asked to prepare a plan for levelling and draining the site.

In February 1892, the council’s Public Parks Committee was presented with four options for improving the site, including one from the Borough Engineer and one from local ward representatives. The Borough Engineer’s plan was selected and work was carried out at a cost of £3000.

The newly improved site, under the new name of The Victoria Park, was officially opened on Monday May 7th 1894 by Alderman Pullman.