Sefton Park
Sefton Park
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Sefton Park Regeneration Overview
Work is now well underway on the multi-million pound regeneration of Sefton Park. Many of the familiar landmarks are being restored or improved for modern needs. The project is expected to take about a year to complete, meaning some disruption to the Park - for instance the renwal of the watercourses will mean the lake will need to be drained for a while (the fish will be rescued and 're-housed' while this goes on - more on Angling). The project has been assisted by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Approval from the Heritage Lottery Fund
The Parks and Environment Service have been succesful in securing a grant of £4.7 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The grant is for a programme of regeneration of this prestigious Victorian park, involving improvement and restoration. The improvements will maintain the character of this famous Park, while meeting the needs of today's visitors.
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Parks and Environment have developed a regular Newsletter to keep you up to date and well informed about Sefton Park and its improvements. Please contact us if you would like to know more about the project or wish to become involved in the project development process.
For yet more information download the Sefton Park Leaflet![(MS Word [23.5Kb] opens in new window)](/images/Word.gif)
Features of the Park
View the Sefton Park leaflet![(PDF [9.5Mb] opens in new window)](/images/PDF.gif)
The magnificent 200-acre Sefton Park looks like a natural landscape rather than a man-made park. In spring the sight of millions of golden daffodils around the lake draws residents from across the city and carpets of bluebells give an impression of rural permanence.
The park is also home to the famous Palm House, a Grade II* listed victorian glasshouse that has been restored to its former glory. Amongst the park's other features are a boating lake and a café. The park also features many distinctive curved paths and driveways and many indigenous British trees. It was originally part of the Royal Park of Toxteth, until the city council bought the land from Lord Sefton in 1866.
Peter Pan Statue
The Peter Pan statue has been reinstated in Sefton Park following cleaning and repair by the Conservation Centre supported by European Objective 1 and City Council funding. It has been resited sited alongside the Palm House, where it remains one of the Park's most visited attractions, particulalry for children (can you spot the frog, mouse, lizard, squirrel and snail on the statue?)
The Peter Pan statue comprises of a bronze figure holding triple pipes which stands atop a tree trunk incorporating a variety of animals. Sir George Frampton (1860-1928) was commissioned by James Mathew Barrie, author of Peter Pan to create the original statue as a gift to the public. Remarkably the original statue was introduced into Kensington Gardens on May Day morning, 1912 without ceremony. By contrast the Sefton Park replica, commissioned by George Audley of Southport as a gift to the children of Liverpool, was launched with a Pageant attended by crowds of children on 16th June 1928. It proved so popular it was repeated the next month. In addition to the Liverpool and London statues there are replicas of Frampton's statue in Brussels, Newfoundland, Toronto, New Jersey and Perth (Western Australia).
Sefton Park was designed by Edouard André (Gardener in Chief, Paris) and Lewis Hornblower (a Liverpool architect) who won a competition in 1867 and a prize of 300 guineas was awarded. The winning design blended the natural undulating topography and two branches of a Mersey tributary to create a landscape in which there was a spinal ornamental watercourse, embellished with rock features including cascades, grottoes and stepping stones leading to a 7 acre lake. Carefully planted woodland clumps sought to create a spacious park landscape with framed vistas revealed from elliptical and tangential pathways.
The park is 269 acres (108 ha) and is the city's largest urban park once known as 'Liverpool's Hyde Park'. Park features include listed statuary, grottoes, gateways and buildings. Statues include full replicas of Peter Pan by Sir George Frampton and the Shaftsbury Memorial (Eros fountain) by Sir Alfred Gilbert. Both are Grade II listed.
Sefton Park Palm House, constructed in 1896, is a Grade II* listed building recently fully restored and refurbished with Heritage Lottery and European funding. The building reopened as a major botanical and events attraction in September 2001.
Access
The main parkland is open 24 hours a day 365 days a year
Map
Zoomable map of the park (centred on the Cafe)