Telling the story of Alexandra Park ............ with your help ...... coming soon

Walking in the park, 1906

I keep coming back to this picture of Alexandra Park and of that boy staring back at us on a warm spring day in 1906.

Of course his identity and what happened to him is something I will never discover, but it makes me think of the countless memories and stories and pictures which are still available and it is these that I want to discover and explore.

The park has been there since 1868 and has just had its makeover which has not been without a bit of controversy.

By the lake, 1906

But back in 1868 there will have been those who muttered at the expense, the encroachment on open countryside and the size of the flowerbeds.

During those 146 years it has been a wonderful resource drawing in generations of people and it has also been the venue for everything from carnivals to demonstrations.

Its closeness to the city centre made it a good choice for protests and meetings with marches which began in Manchester and ended in the park.

In 1902 upwards of 20,000 people marched to the park demonstrating against the Education bill, while six years later a large meeting in the park closed a weekend of activities calling for the extension of the vote.

Looking across the lake, 2014

Now I wasn’t around for either of those but I did march in a huge anti racist demonstration through the city sometime in the 1980s from Strangeways to Alex Park.

And at different times the park has also been the destination for Whit Walks, hosted Fun Days and has just been somewhere to go on a summer’s day.

All of which means that there is a rich heritage which we want to share with all those who have known the park over the years and those who have discovered it more recently.

Chorlton Lodge, 2015

The Heritage Group  have been digging deep into the archives and have asked me and Peter to write a book on the history of the place.

Now as Peter often says, he paints the pictures and I tell the stories.

So along with a fine collection of period photographs Peter has begun work on a collection of paintings of the park.

All of which leaves me to spin the tale based on those archives.

But we need more, especially those memories that reflect the more personal moments, like the first walk in the park with the newly born baby, the accidental meeting by the lake that led to a romance and much more.



So in the meantime as the sun hides behind the rain clouds we shall be getting on with the task.

Pictures; The entrance and lake, Alexandra Park, from Valentine’s Snapshots of Alexandra Park, circa 1906, courtesy of Ann Love,walking in the park in November 2014, from the collection of Andy Robertson 

Painting; Chorlton Lodge, Alexandra Park, © 2015 Peter Topping
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