Exhibition Park, Newcastle

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Coordinates: 54°59′06″N 1°36′58″W / 54.985°N 1.616°W / 54.985; -1.616
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Exhibition Park
Claremont Road entrance
Exhibition Park is located in Tyne and Wear
Exhibition Park
Exhibition Park
Location in Newcastle upon Tyne
TypeUrban park
LocationNewcastle upon Tyne, England
OS gridNZ247657
Coordinates54°59′06″N 1°36′58″W / 54.985°N 1.616°W / 54.985; -1.616
DesignatedNewcastle-upon-Tyne Improvement Act 1870
EtymologyNamed for the Royal Jubilee Mining, Engineering and Industrial Exhibition of 1887
Owned byNewcastle City Council
Managed byUrban Green Newcastle
Waterformer boating lake
Connecting transport
Facilities
Websiteurbangreennewcastle.org/find-your-park/exhibition-park Edit this at Wikidata

Exhibition Park is a public park connected to the south-eastern corner of the Town Moor, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The park is home to numerous facilities including sports areas, a boating lake, playgrounds and a skatepark.

History

Tree-lined path in Exhibition Park

The Town Moor Improvement Act 1870 determined that two parcels of land, each of 35 acres (14 ha), would be developed for recreation. One would become

Hancock Museum. The committee realised that the Bull Park was too small for the Exhibition and requested Town Moor recreation ground. This is where the current park is now. The Royal Mining Engineering Jubilee Exhibition was held in 1887 and proved to be a tremendous success, attracting 2,000,000 visitors.[1]

The name Exhibition Park was first used during the Jubilee Exhibition of 1887 but the old name of Bull Park remained for some time. The only remaining item from the 1887 Exhibition is the

grade II listed[2] bandstand,[3] which dates from 1875.[2]

The North East Coast Exhibition

This

Prince of Wales on 14 May 1929.[4] It was a symbol of pride and industrial success of the region and at the same time an advertisement for local industry and commerce. The Palace of Arts is the only building still remaining in the park today from this exhibition.[5]

Museum of Science and Industry

Between 1934 and 1983, a science museum was located in the Palace of Arts in Exhibition Park.[6] Due to lack of space, in 1983 the collections moved to the former Co-Op warehouse in Blandford Square, which later became the Discovery Museum.

Military Vehicle Museum

A military vehicle museum was then housed within the Palace of Arts, from 1983 until 2006.[7] For a period of time, it continued to house Turbinia, the first turbine-powered steamship, which was moved to the Discovery Museum in 1994.[6]

The city council put the building up for sale in 2011, declaring that it could no longer afford repairs. It was purchased by Shepherd Offshore Ltd who stated that they intended to create a collection of horse-drawn carriages and vintage vehicles.[8] The planned opening date was Easter 2015.[9] However, plans changed and the Palace of Arts now hosts Wylam Brewery, which opened on 27 May 2016.[10]

Tyneside Summer Exhibition

This event began to be held by the city council in the 1960s, and attempted to capture many of the elements of the earlier exhibitions. It was last held in 1986, when a £60,000 loss was recorded.[3]

Exhibition Park today

The Exhibition Park bandstand dates from the 1887 Jubilee Exhibition

Facilities

  • There are two croquet lawns, two tennis courts and one basketball court.
  • There is a fenced playground with safety surface containing swings, slides, climbing frames, spring toys and seating.
  • A disused boating lake.
  • A park café.
  • A skatepark has been developed[11] at the main entrance to Exhibition Park.
  • The Tyneside Society of Model and Experimental Engineers (TSMEE) operates a miniature railway in the park.[12]

Wylam Brewery in the Palace of Arts

Wylam Brewery in the Palace of Arts, Exhibition Park.

Wylam Brewery started brewing at South Houghton Farm, Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland in 2000.[13] Dave Stone and Rob Cameron bought into the business in 2010, and soon realised that due to growing demand Wylam had to move site to realise its potential. The

brewery tap, which is open four days a week, and the "Grand Hall" which hosts live music and events.[13][15]

Wylam produces high volumes of US-inspired heavily hopped

cask selection to three permanent real ales. Head brewer Ben Wilkinson said the brewery has successfully managed to keep both sets of drinkers happy.[13]

Events in the Park

Refurbishment

Exhibition Park was restored by a £3million redevelopment programme funded by the

Heritage Lottery Fund which had a projected completion date of late Summer 2014.[12]

The refurbishment scheme included:

The park was officially reopened in July 2015.[19]

Transport links

The nearest

Metro and bus stations are at Haymarket
and a taxi rank is located at Park Terrace near the park entrance.

Bibliography

References

  1. Heritage Lottery Fund
    (Press release). Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b Historic England (17 December 1971). "Bandstand in Exhibition Park (Grade II) (1024904)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b Ainsley, Tracey; Archbold, Elaine (23 October 2013). "Newcastle's Parks". So That's Why It's Called!. Special Collections. Newcastle University. Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  4. Trinity Mirror
    . Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  5. ^
    Trinity Mirror
    . Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Newcastle's Discovery Museum celebrates 75th anniversary". Culture24. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  7. Trinity Mirror
    . 3 November 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  8. ^ "Newcastle's Military Vehicle Museum future secured". BBC News. BBC. 11 May 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2016. The company plans to house 20 exhibits, including 10 horse-drawn carriages from the Seaton Delaval collection and 10 vintage vehicles including a Rolls-Royce belonging to King George V.
  9. Trinity Mirror
    . Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  10. ^ "Wylam Brewery (Palace of Arts), Exhibition Park, Newcastle". Co-Curate North East. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  11. Trinity Mirror
    . 13 August 2004. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Exhibition Park and Brandling Park". Newcastle City Council. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  13. ^ a b c Tim (5 September 2018). "Northern Powerhouse: The story of Wylam Brewery". Brewer's Journal. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  14. ^ Historic England (17 January 1989). "Military Vehicle Museum (Grade II) (1355325)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  15. ^ Ford, Coreena (8 May 2016). "Wylam Brewery's Dave Stone on bringing brewing back to Newcastle city centre".
    Trinity Mirror
    . Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  16. ^ "About the Mela". Newcastle Mela. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  17. ^ "UK Pride 2021". Northern Pride. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  18. ^ "Newcastle Parks". Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  19. Trinity Mirror
    . Retrieved 27 November 2016.

External links

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