Now as bandstands go the one in Fog Lane Park was not the most attractive examples of a civic bandstand.
I grew up with those elaborate iron ones which adorned the parks in my bit of south east London, and have since started collecting them.*
In that pre television, pre cinema and pre wireless age bandstands offered a place to meet, sit and enjoy live music, although by the 1950s when I was growing up they had become less popular.
And many were already sad looking rusty old affairs, which would soon be swept away. Ours lost its fine iron pillars and decorative bits
followed by the demolition of the brick platform.
So complete was elimination of these bandstands that within a generation their very existence would be all but forgotten.
So, when Barbarella out on a Sunday walk she happened on the circle in Fogg Lane Park,and was mystified, and I have to say so was I.
I toyed with the idea of a former bowling green, but dismissed it for obvious reasons, and speculated that it might have been the site of a pond.
But, rather than stay with speculation I looked up the OS map for 1959, which clearly shows a bandstand at the Parkville Road entrance.
And quick as a flash found a 1962 picture of the bandstand.
I don’t know when it was built, but the park dates from 1926, and I guess that it was erected around that time or a little later.
Its design resembles the open-air theatre in Chorlton Park which was laid out in 1928.
Which just leaves me to thank Barbarella, and scoop up a description of the park from Didsbury Civic Society.
"Fog Lane Park is off Fog Lane. Didsbury. It was purchased in 1926 by the Council and was one of first public parks in Manchester.
It is said that Fog Lane Park earned its name from a grass, commonly known as 'Yorkshire Fog' which still grows throughout the park.
The site is comprised mainly of grassland and woodland, but also contains two small lakes, shrub beds, scattered trees, rose gardens and a sensory garden and children's play areas.
The park is particularly suited to football, having several pitches and a large grassed area.
Fog Lane has an area dedicated to the growth of wildflowers.
These attract wildlife such as butterflies, dragonflies and a large selection of insects. In turn, these provide food for a wide variety of birds which visit the park and are then encouraged to nest.
These include mallards, moorhens, Canada geese, kestrels, wood pigeons, coots and the occasional heron, plus the latest additions - ring-necked parakeets.
The park has a variety of trees and shrubs, including dawn redwood, silver birch, laburnums and flowering crabs, as well as a number of unusual specimens which have reached maturity, including hornbeams, alders, poplars, Norway maple and Indian bean.
The park is mainly used for children’s recreation, dog walking, personal fitness including organised health walking, Saturday and Sunday league football and for educational purposes, by school groups, church groups and scout/brownie groups.
Fog Lane Park Bowling Club and the Friends of Fog Lane Park actively work with Manchester Leisure to improve and promote the site.”**
Location; Fog Lane Park
Pictures; Fog Lane Park, 2020, from the collection of Barbarella Bonvento, Bandstand, Fog Lane Park,1962, m58046, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass, and Fog lane Park, 1959, from the OS Map of Manchester & Salford, 1959
*The Bandstand, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Bandstands
***More on Fog Lane Park, Didsbury Civic Society, https://www.didsburycivicsociety.org/fog-lane-park
 |
| The former bandstand, 2020 |
In that pre television, pre cinema and pre wireless age bandstands offered a place to meet, sit and enjoy live music, although by the 1950s when I was growing up they had become less popular.
And many were already sad looking rusty old affairs, which would soon be swept away. Ours lost its fine iron pillars and decorative bits
followed by the demolition of the brick platform.
 |
| The bandstand in 1962 |
So, when Barbarella out on a Sunday walk she happened on the circle in Fogg Lane Park,and was mystified, and I have to say so was I.
I toyed with the idea of a former bowling green, but dismissed it for obvious reasons, and speculated that it might have been the site of a pond.
But, rather than stay with speculation I looked up the OS map for 1959, which clearly shows a bandstand at the Parkville Road entrance.
And quick as a flash found a 1962 picture of the bandstand.
 |
| The bandstand in 1959 |
Its design resembles the open-air theatre in Chorlton Park which was laid out in 1928.
Which just leaves me to thank Barbarella, and scoop up a description of the park from Didsbury Civic Society.
"Fog Lane Park is off Fog Lane. Didsbury. It was purchased in 1926 by the Council and was one of first public parks in Manchester.
It is said that Fog Lane Park earned its name from a grass, commonly known as 'Yorkshire Fog' which still grows throughout the park.
The site is comprised mainly of grassland and woodland, but also contains two small lakes, shrub beds, scattered trees, rose gardens and a sensory garden and children's play areas.
The park is particularly suited to football, having several pitches and a large grassed area.
 |
| Welcome to the park, 2020 |
These attract wildlife such as butterflies, dragonflies and a large selection of insects. In turn, these provide food for a wide variety of birds which visit the park and are then encouraged to nest.
These include mallards, moorhens, Canada geese, kestrels, wood pigeons, coots and the occasional heron, plus the latest additions - ring-necked parakeets.
The park has a variety of trees and shrubs, including dawn redwood, silver birch, laburnums and flowering crabs, as well as a number of unusual specimens which have reached maturity, including hornbeams, alders, poplars, Norway maple and Indian bean.
The park is mainly used for children’s recreation, dog walking, personal fitness including organised health walking, Saturday and Sunday league football and for educational purposes, by school groups, church groups and scout/brownie groups.
Fog Lane Park Bowling Club and the Friends of Fog Lane Park actively work with Manchester Leisure to improve and promote the site.”**
Location; Fog Lane Park
Pictures; Fog Lane Park, 2020, from the collection of Barbarella Bonvento, Bandstand, Fog Lane Park,1962, m58046, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass, and Fog lane Park, 1959, from the OS Map of Manchester & Salford, 1959
*The Bandstand, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Bandstands
***More on Fog Lane Park, Didsbury Civic Society, https://www.didsburycivicsociety.org/fog-lane-park
My Dad and I played tennis here. When I was a tot Mum would bring me to feed the ducks, late 40s. Tennis was in early 60s
ReplyDeleteI have been visiting the park since the 70s and the park was such a spectacular sight with its beautifully manicured bowling greens, flower beds and well maintained pathways and bushes. The friends of Fog Lane park have been a God send as the days of having a team of park keepers are long gone. The park is coming along lovely and it was evident during lockdown how well used it is by the locals. Keep up the great work.
ReplyDeleteAs a child I spent many happy hours in Fog Lane park. My paternal grandparents lived on Parrs Wood Road and I would either play football with some of the other local boys, or go and feed to various animals in the caged menagerie (long since gone) near the two ponds. The two ponds both had black and white swans (again long since gone). From there I would circumnavigate the park passing the again long since gone bandstand and then meet my grandparents at the bowling green, they both played for the local club.
ReplyDeleteI still visit the park but much of the above is gone or in a pretty sorry state. The park is pretty overgrown and in need of some TLC. But as a green space in a busy urban jungle one can only still praise those early councillors for their foresight
I've lived near the park since 1959,remember the bandstand,there was also a putting green and just near the children's swings was a hut ran by Mrs Olive who sold sweets and drinks,the days when there were parties.
ReplyDelete