Royal Victoria Park, Bath, England

The site slopes uphill to the north. There are entrances to the park from all directions but the most pleasing approach is from Queen's Parade in the south-east corner. It is then possible to follow the Royal Avenue and make a circular tour of the park, making detours from the road to visit the features.

Walking westwards along Royal Avenue, the bowling green and tennis courts are hidden below on the left. On the right there is some formal planting. Once past the eastern tip of the park, Royal Crescent to the north comes into view with its extensive grassed area to the front. The Royal Crescent dominates the eastern end of the park.

Crossing Marlborough Lane, one comes to the focal point of the park. This is the Victoria column and the area surrounding Park Cottages.

Beyond the column the grassland slopes northwards, criss-crossed by several diagonal paths. In the western end of the park are grouped the lake, the botanic garden and the Great and Little Dells. The golf course to the north and the allotments to the south make the whole area an extensive green urban site.

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. 

A public park laid out to a design by Edward Davis and opened by Princess Victoria in 1830.

DESCRIPTION

LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING

Royal Victoria Park, a site of about 23 hectares, lies on the north-west side of the city of Bath, to the south of High Common from which it is separated by Weston Road. It occupies a gently sloping, south-facing site, edged by Park Lane to the west, a children's playground and allotments between it and Upper Bristol Road to the south, and more allotments and a row of houses fronting onto Marlborough Lane to the east. A strip of land on the eastern side of Marlborough Lane links the main body of the site with Queen's Parade. On the rising land to the north of this extension of the park stands Royal Crescent. The far north-east boundary of the extension is formed by the Gravel Walk, which runs along the rear garden walls of the houses along Brock Street, The Circus, and Gay Street. This Walk dates from the late 18th century but was adopted into the park as part of Edward Davis' design.

The park's railings, a few sections of which have survived since they were taken down during the Second World War, are currently (2001) being replaced.From the park there are fine and extensive views towards Royal Crescent to the north, and over the hills to the south of Bath.

REFERENCES

F Hanham, Manual for the Park (1857)

The Garden, (22 June 1901), pp 447-9

Gardener's Chronicle, i (1902), pp 156-7, 179

G Chadwick, Park and the Town (1966), pp 28, 34-5

C Pound, Genius of Bath - The City and its Landscape (1986), pp 82-5

H Conway, People's Parks (1991), p 15

Grant Application to restore the lake in Royal Victoria Park, (Bath City Council 1993)

S Harding and D Lambert, Parks and Gardens of Avon (1994), pp 100-01

R Gilding, Historic Public Parks - Bath (1997), pp 21-35

Description rewritten: June 2001

Amended: November 2003

Edited: January 2004