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Home › Royal Victoria Park, Bath

Royal Victoria Park was opened in 1830 by Princess Victoria as a public pleasure park. The plan was by Edward Davis, the city architect. The area was previously common land belonging to the Freemen of Bath.

The gates to Royal Avenue from Queen's Parade, the lake, the park cottages and Royal Avenue are the main features of the original layout. Other features have been added over the years, mainly in the 19th century, so that by the turn of the century the park was largely as we see it today.

The trees are believed to have been selected by J.C. Loudon and planted by W.H. Baxter. Throughout the 19th century the park was managed by a committee of wealthy Bath inhabitants, and financed by voluntary contributions. In 1921, when it was no longer feasible for the park to be run by volunteers, Bath City Council took it over.

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

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

Royal Victoria Park was laid out on common land belonging to the Freemen of Bath, and was initially only rented to the Corporation. It was opened by Princess (later Queen) Victoria in 1830. The park was managed by a committee of wealthy Bath inhabitants and financed by voluntary contributions until taken over by Bath City Council in 1921. The design for its layout was drawn up by Edward Davis (1802-52), City Architect. The Upper Common to the north of the park (now, 2001, a public golf course), was originally to become part of the park and to be linked to the southern part by a viaduct under Weston Road. This part of Davis' design however was never implemented because the Freemen who owned the land and the Park Committee could not come to an agreement regarding the inclusion of this area into the park. The Royal Victoria Park Committee wanted the park to become the major arboretum of the west of England, and thus a wide variety of unusual trees and shrubs were planted. In 1839 the Royal Victoria Horticultural and Botanical Garden was formed in the park. These were redesigned and extended in 1887 by John Milburn and J W Morris to receive the plant collection donated by C E Broome. In 1857 Frederick Hanman produced his Manual for the Park, a handbook to the park's trees and shrubs, including biographies of the Bath citizens who donated them.

The park remains (2001) in council ownership and is open to the public.

Site timeline

: Three Tenors' Concert

People associated with this site

Writer: William Beckford

Designer: Edward Davis (born 1802 died 1852)

Architect: Charles Edward Davis (born 29/08/1827 died 10/05/1902)

Writer: John Claudius Loudon (born 08/04/1783 died 14/12/1843)

Architect: George Phillips Manners (born 1789 died 28/11/1866)

Features

bandstand

Feature created: 1880

Creator: Charles Edward Davis (born 29/08/1827 died 10/05/1902)

The bandstand has delicate cast-iron supports to an open front. It was designed by C.E. Davis, city architect, son of Edward Davis, designer of the park.