Ropner Park

About

Ropner Park is a free public park, located in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. In June 1890 Major Robert Ropner offered a piece of land, known locally as Hartburn Fields to the people of Stockton which could be used as a public park, providing the local council would lay it out 'tastefully' and ‘keep it forever’. On 4 October 1893, Ropner Park was officially opened by the then Duke & Duchess of York.

The ceremony involved the royals using an ornate key to open the Golden Gates. After a century of regular use by the people of Stockton, the park was refurbished and renovated to its former glory between 2004 and 2007 by Stockton Borough Council, thanks to a £2.65m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Park is a roughly square site, with 20th-century railings along its road boundaries and is typically Victorian in style, with rockeries and floral displays.

It has a tree-lined avenue which leads to an ornamental fountain and a pavilion with a veranda and also includes a new bandstand, based on the original design, a park ranger's office, bowling green, quoits green, tennis courts and a cafe, (run by the local charity, The Friends of Ropner Park). A large lake with islands dominates...