History of Heysham Park.
The History of Heysham Park.
The Park is named after Doctor John Heysham (1753 - 1834),
a Carlisle physician, whose 'Carlisle Tables of
Mortality' are known and used by actuaries, insurers and
underwriters all over the world.
Dr Heysham's work extended to
promoting the medical interests and sanitary welfare of the the
people of Carlisle, and in 1782 he founded the Carlisle
Dispensary, where the poor of the City could obtain free
medicines.
On his death in 1834, Dr Heysham
left £1,000 to the Mayor and Aldermen and Councillors of the City
of Carlisle in trust for the creation of a people's park and place
of recreation within the City. The money had been invested
and had accumulated to £2,300 and was used to create a new park at
Raffles.
One hundred years later, Heysham
Park was opened for the first time on August 25th, 1934 by
Councillor Eb Gray, Chairman of the Parks Committee of The Carlisle
Corporation.
Heysham Park was laid out by City
Engineer, Percy Dalton, with the Parham Beck running down the
middle of the Park. The banks of the Parham Beck were built
up with recycled concrete blocks taken up form the streets of the
City when the tramlines were removed.
Heysham Park
Refurbishment.
With the refurbishment of the
Raffles Estate over the past few years, and after extensive
consultation with local residents, a new vision for Heysham Park
was agreed. Each segment of the Park was given a different
theme, (the Flower Park; the Play Park, the Sports Park and the
Country Park) and Carlisle City Council agreed to fund the
improvements.
These improvement works will be
continuing in 2009 contributing to a cleaner, greener, safer
Carlisle.