Saturday 29 January 2011

Is this Corporation Park ?

When I was sent the above (old) photo about 6 months ago, I was told it was Corporation Park c1895. Well I've studied it, but I'm not totally convinced it is. The only parts of the park I think it could possibly be, are either just inside the West Park gate (so the conservatory would be to the left, the gate to the right and the lodge directly behind the photographer), but then the properties in the background don't seem to look like East Park Road. Or alternatively it could possibly be just inside the East Park gate (in which case the gate would sort of be to the left of the curved lawn area and to the right would be the pathway up towards the Broad Walk), but from there, I don't think you can see any properties in the distance, except maybe some of the QEGS buildings on West Park Road.
Anyone else got any thoughts or can you confirm it is Corporation Park (perhaps neither of the two locations I mention, but another part of the park)?
Below I have reversed the image, just in case the one above was developed the wrong way around.
UPDATE 8th Jan 2011 -  John Stone has kindly supplied 2 images taken this week. Both of his photos are from the West Park Lodge. You can quite clearly see the similarity above, but as John says in his e-mail to me, you can't see the lake in the older image. Below, I have reversed John's second picture to compare it with the reversed old image (but please bear in mind, John's photo is definitely from the West Park Lodge, that we do know). Personally, I think he should go back up there with a large group of people and take another shot, perhaps a yard or two further back than he was;-)    
COURTESY OF THE CP COLLECTION
'NOW' IMAGES COURTESY OF JOHN STONE
( Cheers John )



14 comments:

  1. I'm not all that familiar with Corporation Park Colin but the pathway seems to be a bit too steep to be leading up from the East Park entrance.

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  2. I'm not sure it's either, but they're the only parts of the park I think it could possibly be.
    It would be leading down from the East Park entrance, not up. The pathway there does slope quite a bit, as the lodge is on higher ground than the lake (which it slopes towards).

    If any I would think it's close to the West Park gate, but even considering the changes over more than a century (tree growth etc), I'm still not convinced it's Corporation Park.

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  3. I think I'm with you now Colin as to the possible direction of the photo. So would those houses in the distance have to be on Shear Bank Rd / Lilford Rd or Park Ave area ?
    If they are, then I'm even more convinced that it's not Corporation Park.

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  4. If it's a view from the West Park gate (which is my first theory), then the houses would be in that general direction John, but the large properties the whole length of East Park Rd would obscure any sight of Shear Bank Rd. At a push you might glimpse a bit of Lilford Rd, but Park Ave would be too far back.

    It's not the clearest of photos, so it's hard to see what is in the far distance. It even looks like there's parts of buildings / roofs amongst the trees.

    Yet the sweep of the walkway (when looking at the upper photo) does resemble the view from the West park lodge. You have the wooded area to the right and on the left the (part) lawned area, like what is in front of the conservatory and then the walkway does veer off to the right again, as ours does as it gets near the ponds.

    Still have my doubts though !

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  5. To get some perspective on where I think it COULD be John, if you click on PARKS in the 'labels' and then scroll down to the photo of the West Park gates, then just imagine that the crowd of people are stood just inside of those gates and a little to the right. Then imagine the photographer had his camera set up right outside of the lodge looking down the drive/pathway, then you will see what I mean by it resembling the landscaped / lawn area in front of the conservatory. You can see the curve and there's also small, circular islands of shrubbery dotted about on it (in both photos).

    And like I say, on the right hand side (from the photographer's perspective) you have the small wooded area between the drive and West Park Rd.

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  6. Mmm..I'm going to have a run up there sometime Colin during my daily course of work obviously ;-) To get a proper idea of what you mean.

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  7. It's bound to look different today John, 100 or more years on, which is why I used the other old image as a comparison, but the lodge, gates and walkway are still probably as they were back then.

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  8. The reversed one looks a hell of a lot like the walk down the main pathway - imagine the photographer is stood in front of the small waterfall and statue next to the lake. The curve of the path is spot on as well as either side of the path.

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  9. I can see what you mean Richard, but I thought it was pretty straight from the small fountain / statue of Flora down to the main entrance, in which case, you would be able to see the entrance (I'll have to pop up sometime and have a look from that point).
    That said though, there does appear to be a building or something in the blurred bit, towards the bottom of the path.

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  10. I've just been looking at the two top images again John and although the path that leads from the ''drive'' up to the conservatory steps isn't visible in the old image, there are a couple of people stood right where you would expect it to be. So it could have been there, maybe at the other side of those bushes/shrubs. The bushes could have been uprooted and disposed of at some time. It's bound to have altered to some degree over 115 years.

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  11. Another thing (I'm really trying to convince myself here you know), the grass in the old image doesn't look to have the incline needed to slope up to the conservatory, whereas your photo has. But if you were to slightly tilt the older photo, so the crowd of people are stood on a level drive (like in your photo), then that WOULD raise the grassed area to a similar incline. Do you understand what I mean? The photographers tripod could have been slightly askew or maybe the print developed on a slant.

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  12. I've tilted it slightly, so you can see what I mean ;-)

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  13. I see what you mean now that you have tilted the original photo Colin, the crowd now seem to be standing at a more vertical angle to the path. I've enlarged the original time and time again and if you look at the tree directly above the 2 men on the opposite side of the path from the main group there is definitely something that resembles water to either side of it, could this be the lake ?

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  14. I can see the white bits either side of that tree and it could be water, but just to the right of that there's something that looks like a pitched roof on a cabin or something. That's what is still making me have doubts about the picture in general. It could be an optical illusion though, or a mark on the photo (I only have this copy sent via e-mail, so can't inspect it any closer). Could even be some temporary structure. I'm just grasping at straws, cos I've no idea to be honest.

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