Corporation Park

Preston New Road, Blackburn

Discovery Trail

1/16 Corporation Park

Laid out on Pemberton Clough by William Henderson and John McGregor at an original cost of 14,701 pounds 19 shillings 1 penny and purchased at £65 per acre from Joseph Feilden.

2/16 The Big Fountain

Donated by Mayer Pilkington and made by Varley & Sons. Originally fed by the small lake, the jet was measured at 70 feet (21.3m) at the park opening on October 22nd, 1857.

3/16 Snig Brook

Named after the large eels that thrived lower down, the water once supplied Daniel Thwaites' and Cunningham's Snig Brook brewery, formerly on Montague St.

4/16 Flora

The Roman goddess of flowers and trees, distinguished by her Roman sandals and cornucopia, was sculpted by Thomas Allen of Liverpool, who also worked on Lloyd's Old Bank and the Charles Napier public house.

5/16 Flora's Pool

Plaque not currently installed so not a cottontowncat photograph - photograph kindly provided by the Corporation Park Supporters Group

Made by Duckworth's of Northgate in 1857, the fountain has a typical lily petal basin beneath sea creatures and cherubs. The pool was once part of the old Blackburn waterworks. 

6/16 The 'Big Can'

The original reservoir from 1772 was extended by the creation of the dam in 1856. In 1980 a number of WW2 bombs were discovered by Darwen Sub Aqua Club.

7/16 The 'Can'

Until 1846 water was drawn here at a charge of one penny per can. The fountain is the last of three gifted by Mayor Pilkington in 1857.

8/16 Old Band Stands

Site of band stands from 1880 and 1909. The teahouse, built 1906, was later a 'Sunshine School' for TB patients. The 'Round House' shelter once stood to the far left.

9/16 The Conservatory

Build in 1900 from public subscriptions in art nouveau and classical style, it is crowned by an Indian belfry. The clock, by Thomas Ainsworth, Northgate, was installed in 1901 to ensure that local people got to work on time.

10/16 The Italian Gardens

Laid out in 1882 on former bowling greens. The two central oaks commemorate the coronation of 1953. The 'Old Oak' in the Pine Walk predates the part by many years.

11/16 The Sliding Stone

Found in the river at Samlesbury and here since 1882, the stone is an 'erratic' of Scottish granite brought south and made smooth by a glacier c.10,000 years ago.

12/16 Broad Walk

Planted with lime trees in continental style, it was constructed in 1863-4 to provide labour for the mill workers during the cotton famine caused by the American Civil war.

13/16 'Devil's Rock'

So named by young explorers who have scaled the former millstone grit quarry face of Park Delph. Drill hones can be seen higher up the bank.

14/16 The Ripple Marks

Old quarry workings reveal traces of a great river from Carboniferous time, c.300 million years ago. Close by is the 'Revidge Fault', evidence of a prehistoric earthquake.

15/16 The Battery

213.5m above sea level, the battery was built to display two 24lb bronze cannon captured at Sebasopol in 1855 and gifted by Queen Victoria. They were sold for scrap early in WW2.

16/16 Red Rake

The tennis courts were laid out in Lutyens style between 1921-25 on land purchased from Red Rake Farm for £1206 in 1867. Congratulations you have finished the trail!

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