Birkenhead Park
The first publicly funded civic park, designed by Joseph Paxton.
The park in Birkenhead was laid out for the town’s inhabitants and paid for with public money, a novelty in Britain. Joseph Paxton designed a park where villa plots along the edge paid for the cost of the park.
The American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted visited the park in 1850 and was inspired by it when he later designed Central Park in New York.
Materials: Lawns, lakes, paths, trees and pavilions
Manufacture: Laid out 1843–1847 by Joseph Paxton in Birkenhead near Liverpool.
The winding paths round the lakes.
The stone bridge and the pavilions.
The large lawns for play and sport.