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Walpole Park
Walpole Park is a 28-acre (11 ha) Grade II municipal park, situated in Ealing (West London), England. Currently governed by Ealing Council, it was initially the grounds of Pitzhanger Manor, the early 19th-century country home of Sir John Soane. It was acquired by Ealing Council in 1899 and opened to the public for the first time on 1 May 1901.
The park itself is listed at grade II on the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. Within its boundaries are additional statutory protected structures: Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery (listed Grade I) and Lodge (listed Grade II). Other attractions featured in its grounds include the late Victorian ornamental Serpentine Lake, bordering the House's rear lawn, and a pond further west with a pair of fountains – both of which attract waterfowl.
Pitzhanger Manor and its grounds (later Walpole Park) was once owned by the influential British architect, Sir John Soane, who bought it in 1800. During 1800 to 1803, Soane transformed Pitzhanger Manor's architecture and hired landscape gardener, John Haverfield to transform its grounds. Its ownership changed hands several times after Soane sold it in 1810. Eventually it was purchased for £40,000 in 1899 by the Urban District Council of Ealing from Sir Spencer Walpole, having previously been bought by his father, the Rt. Hon. Spencer Horatio Walpole. The Borough surveyor Charles Jones who negotiated the terms of the sale with his close friend Spencer Walpole also went on to set out the design of tree-lined avenues, paths and flower beds. The outer path is nearly a mile in circumference. The sides of the pond nearest Pitzhanger Manor were planted with shrubs and other plants.
Soane's Manor then[when?] became Ealing Borough's central public lending library. The library vacated the site in 1984. Work then began on researching the building to discover the original décor and renovating it back to how it had been in Soane's day. A library extension that had been built on the north-side was converted into the present-day art gallery.
At the end of the 1980s some restoration work was done to recreate some of the original layout by Soane's and Haverfield's garden. In 1987 it was registered by English Heritage on the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England.
The park was extensively renovated from August 2013 on-wards and reopened fully in the summer of 2014. Two new ponds replaced the ornamental lake and the fishpond. Breeding wildfowl have returned to the park and the new flower beds are developing, with Regency planting. The bridge which was situated at one end of the sunken garden has been restored.
Walpole Park's north boundary wall likely dates from the late-18th century and a Grade II listing. Facing Mattock Lane, the red-brick wall is 10 feet high and spans 50 yards of the park's northern perimeter, from Walpole's entrance arch to the public conveniences.
Pitzhanger Manor's archway was originally produced by John Soane as his Manor's entrance, and is now in use as the park's main entryway. A Grade I listing, the arch is still made of the original brick and flint materials used by Soane. It is located horizontal to Pitzhanger's front-face at the north-east end of Walpole Park.
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Walpole Park
Walpole Park is a 28-acre (11 ha) Grade II municipal park, situated in Ealing (West London), England. Currently governed by Ealing Council, it was initially the grounds of Pitzhanger Manor, the early 19th-century country home of Sir John Soane. It was acquired by Ealing Council in 1899 and opened to the public for the first time on 1 May 1901.
The park itself is listed at grade II on the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. Within its boundaries are additional statutory protected structures: Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery (listed Grade I) and Lodge (listed Grade II). Other attractions featured in its grounds include the late Victorian ornamental Serpentine Lake, bordering the House's rear lawn, and a pond further west with a pair of fountains – both of which attract waterfowl.
Pitzhanger Manor and its grounds (later Walpole Park) was once owned by the influential British architect, Sir John Soane, who bought it in 1800. During 1800 to 1803, Soane transformed Pitzhanger Manor's architecture and hired landscape gardener, John Haverfield to transform its grounds. Its ownership changed hands several times after Soane sold it in 1810. Eventually it was purchased for £40,000 in 1899 by the Urban District Council of Ealing from Sir Spencer Walpole, having previously been bought by his father, the Rt. Hon. Spencer Horatio Walpole. The Borough surveyor Charles Jones who negotiated the terms of the sale with his close friend Spencer Walpole also went on to set out the design of tree-lined avenues, paths and flower beds. The outer path is nearly a mile in circumference. The sides of the pond nearest Pitzhanger Manor were planted with shrubs and other plants.
Soane's Manor then[when?] became Ealing Borough's central public lending library. The library vacated the site in 1984. Work then began on researching the building to discover the original décor and renovating it back to how it had been in Soane's day. A library extension that had been built on the north-side was converted into the present-day art gallery.
At the end of the 1980s some restoration work was done to recreate some of the original layout by Soane's and Haverfield's garden. In 1987 it was registered by English Heritage on the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England.
The park was extensively renovated from August 2013 on-wards and reopened fully in the summer of 2014. Two new ponds replaced the ornamental lake and the fishpond. Breeding wildfowl have returned to the park and the new flower beds are developing, with Regency planting. The bridge which was situated at one end of the sunken garden has been restored.
Walpole Park's north boundary wall likely dates from the late-18th century and a Grade II listing. Facing Mattock Lane, the red-brick wall is 10 feet high and spans 50 yards of the park's northern perimeter, from Walpole's entrance arch to the public conveniences.
Pitzhanger Manor's archway was originally produced by John Soane as his Manor's entrance, and is now in use as the park's main entryway. A Grade I listing, the arch is still made of the original brick and flint materials used by Soane. It is located horizontal to Pitzhanger's front-face at the north-east end of Walpole Park.