New entrance gates & pillars were planned to replace an older entrance at the southeast corner near East Lodge. This was apparently not implemented, as only a pair of plain gates exists there today. One brick pillar still survives, however. Like the two early lodges, it is
constructed of “Pease” bricks and therefore was probably part of the original entrance that was constructed in 1851.
The First World War tank was broken up for scrap for the new war effort. The plaque belonging to it is now in Darlington Museum.
The site of the tank was used as a collection point for scrap metal. Most of this came from railings from domestic front gardens. Some railings were taken from public parks. South Park railings survived, however.
Blackwell Mill, an old disused building on the edge of the boating lake, was demolished, despite opposition from the Darlington Society of Arts. An earlier structure on this site is believed to date back to the fourteenth century or earlier.
An entrance at Bedford Street was planned with ornate gates and pillarsc. However, presumably because of the war, only a pair of plain gates was constructed.
A new footbridge over the River Skerne was built after the lagoon had been filled in and this section of the river straightenedxcvii. The foundations of this bridge remain as part of the current structurexcviii.
There have been several pieces of land added to the park since it first opened, but only one occasion where some land was taken away. It was with the advent of the new section west of the river and the construction of a new footbridge connecting this section to the main body of
the park that the original access path from Grange Road was no longer required. It was blocked off and, from then on, was no longer part of the park. Currently, only the first 40 metres of this path is in use as an access to a modern block of flats (No. 199, Grange Road).
Further along, it is overgrown and derelict. The land does not belong to the Council and it has not been possible to trace the ownershipxcix.
A stone arch, which had formed part of the Bishop’s Palace in Lead Yard, was planned to be moved and installed in the grottoxcv. The Palace, which was demolished in the 1960’s to make way for the new town hall, dated back to the twelfth century. Sadly, there is no sign of the arch
in the park now so it was probably never installed. A stone arch at the entrance to the grotto is evidently not the one referred to here as it can be seen in the background on an etching from circa 1890xcvi.
The observatory that had been in the park for nearly thirty years was not a successxcii. Its lack of use was largely due to the fact that the park’s security arrangements conflicted with one of the main requirements for an observatory, i.e. that users can gain access at nighttime and at short notice whenever the weather conditions are favourable. This was not the case, with the park being locked during hours of darkness and the park’s superintendent not being contactable. Some steps were taken to rectify this, by giving extra sets of keys to other individuals, but it still proved unsatisfactory. In the end, the observatory was removed and resited on the Grammar School playing field near Westbourne Grovexciii. It became frequently used by the Darlington Astronomical Society. Sadly, in the 1990’s, it was gutted by fire and the telescope was damaged beyond repairxciv.
The surviving lenses and fittings are in the care of Darlington Sixth Form College.
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