The Park

History

 

WILLIAMSON PARK & ASHTON MEMORIAL

The Park includes the Ashton Memorial (a famous folly on the skyline overlooking Lancaster) and Tropical Butterfly House, Mini-Beast Centre, Foreign Bird House and Conservation Garden.

Swans on the lake in 1959

The Park

The parkland itself is still evolving. Through community programme and training schemes Williamson Park has been the focus of carefully planned, progressive development. Most eye catching perhaps, is the decorative pavement which spreads between the Ashton Memorial and the Butterfly House, designed by Maggie Howarth, the mosaic incorporates the Arms of Lancaster with the Lancashire Rose.

Across the park a number of paths and walkways, some lost for many years have been cleared and fully restored. The lakes have received attention and the cascade, part James Williamson's (Snr) original scheme but long out of service, is being restored to its rightful place.
The Ashton Memorial was a gift to the City from Lord Ashton, set within the parkland created by his father, James Williamson. The "structure", as it became known locally, was a memorial to Lord Ashton's first wife. The park was created out of the quarries from which came the stone for most of Lancaster's buildings. Inside the recently restored Memorial is the Williamson Gallery.

New Bridge in the Park

The Park is 38 acres of landscaped gardens with breathtaking views to the Fylde Coast and the Lake District. A pleasant café is available at most times during the Park's opening hours.
For further details contact 00 44 (0) 1524 33318.

The Lake Side

The West gate to the Park 1940