With Pearson Park, established in 1860, being Hull’s first public park, when West and East Parks were being established in the 1880s it was referred to as ‘The Park’ in the minutes of the Parks and Recreation Grounds Committee which may be viewed in the reference room of Hull History Centre.
Many features of Hull’s later public parks, and of the public’s reaction to these parks, were first evidenced at Pearson Park. For example, on the 7th September 1888 it was recorded that a ‘monkey’ had been donated to The Park as well as ‘3 Persian guinea-pigs’. Such donations of animals, birds, plants and even fish from members of the public reflects (hopefully) that such creatures were provided with suitable accommodation. Certainly parks often had/have aviaries and some enclosures for mammals. Most parks had lakes for fish, although the one at Pearson Park was concrete-lined so fish would have had little or no natural food supply.
Unfortunately it is clear from the Minutes about ‘The Park’ that bad behaviour in these public spaces was a problem from day-one. On 19th December 1884 it was recorded that two ‘Spanish geese’ had been stolen from Pearson Park (the date suggesting that these poor creatures were destined not to live a long and fulfilling life!). Also in the 1880s children from a nearby orphanage were causing problems by ‘running through the shrubberies’, while ‘youths’ congregating after dark in the Park were also a problem.
As well as exotic animals and birds members of the public were also often recorded as donating artefacts for display. For example, in April 1887 ‘4 large stones and a large tree root’ dredged-up from Dogger Bank (given the date probably by an early steam trawler) were presented to Pearson Park, these, presumably, inviting speculation about the bed of the German Ocean during glacial and inter-glacial times (if public consciousness had reached such a point).
Picture above = the notice-board of the Friends of Pearson Park.
(to be continued).