QUEENS PARK

[Bert]

I'm far too young to remember the railings that surrounded the Wreck but my big sister (5ft.) is 91 on the first of Spring this year and she remembers them.

[Alan]

Bert may remember this about Queen's Park. The small field that bordered Boundary Road was always referred to as The Cabbage Field, presumably as it was used for growing veggies during WW2

[Alan]

When I was a youngster in the late 1940s, the small field that bordered Boundary Road was referred to as The Cabbage Field. I assume that this was maybe because it was used for growing veg during WW2. Can anyone confirm or otherwise?

[Bert]

We called it the carrot field. It was bounded by a low hedge, so low I could jump over it during the war to pinch carrots.

[Alan]

Belated thanks, Bert. Yes you're correct. My memory failed me. It was Carrot Field not Cabbage Field

[Bert]

One lasting memory of the carrot field was from a few years after the war. I was queuing at the side entrance of the baths to see the water polo. Several lads, about 14years old were playing touch rugby on the carrot field; with only the full back to beat the player in possession had support left and right. It was obvious the way his hips swung to the left and he looked to his right that the ball would go to the right, but no. He released the ball on the back swing to the support on the left. Where else but in a league town would you see such flair from players so young?

[Alan]

Yes, it was a favourite field for touch rugby games

[Alan]

Wasn't there a Baptist Hall or similar at the Lingholm Road end of it?

[Strollby]

Bit off-topic, but would anyone remember opposite on one corner of Peter st was the Blind School whilst on the opposite corner was an off licence which had inside one of these big old grandfather clocks whilst on the counter was a deep green jardinière with lions head/face to the fore, always looked threatening to me as a kid.

[Alan]

I remember the Blind School very well. I think they did a lot of basket-weaving work there. Didn't Gavin Murray have a coach-hire business in that area too?

[Strollby]

He did indeed, a deliverer of dreams, a day out in Blackpool, still remember the pleasurable anticipation of a day out to the seaside.

[Alan]

Was there a competition for the first kid to spot Blackpool tower?

[HORT]

Its now absolutely full of wild flowers. Looks great.

[Alan]

HORT, is that photo taken from the Lingholm Road side or the Horace Street end?

[HORT]

From Lingholme Road side

[Dave]

Those old men who used to play bowls there will be turning in their graves. I was only a toddler or thereabouts when I assumed that they were just taller children and not proper grown ups because they wanted to play. However, when I tried to join in they turned a bit hostile.

[Alan]

I suppose the shale covered tennis courts have gone too?

[Alan]

It'd be great to hear about other parks from my childhood.
Does Victora Park still have a putting green, bowling green and tennis courts? Is there still an aviary in the quarry at Taylor Park and can you still hire a rowing boat by the hour at its lake

[Dave]

No, I think it's all gone.

[Alan]

Thanks Dave. Is there still a duck-pond in Victoria Park; or has that bit the dust too?

[Dave]

The duck pond is still there. It looked a bit grotty when I was there the other week.

[Alan]

Am I correct in believing that the Victoria Park's water source was cooling water from Pilkington's Cowley Hill works? HORT will probably know if this is correct or a myth

[HORT]

Alan, the cooling water at Cowley Hill Works went into the cooling ponds in the factory and not into Victoria Park.

[Alan]

I wonder what keeps it filled. There's no stream there and just relying on rain to fill it is a dodgy option both for the health of the water fowl that use it and the park's human visitors

[Alan]

This is what Doctor Google says about the pond
"Victoria Park in St Helens is home to several natural ponds and a lake, fed primarily by rainwater and potentially local groundwater, though specific sources for each pond are not detailed in these results. The area likely has a network of underground water systems and surface water flows that contribute to these bodies of water. "