Barnes Park

Barnes Park was laid out in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The land for Barnes Park, set in a valley through which the Bishopwearmouth Burn flows, was bought in 1904 for the sum £8,500. Three years later, when the depression of trade struck in 1907, the laying out of the park was started – this became a source of employment for a number of practical gardeners from the area, with a total of 2,798 men being employed. The park was then opened in August 1909. Many of the established trees were retained with oak, ash, beech and elm trees constituting its main wooded growth. Paths meandered throughout the park in all directions and at the west side, on the most elevated piece…