Delve into the captivating history of the People’s
Park
Delve into the fascinating history of one of
London’s much loved parks.
Tower Hamlets Council has launched Victoria
Park’s very own audio trail for visitors to download and create
their own personalised historical tour of the park.
The Memoryscape Trail will take visitors on an
exciting tour around the award winning park where you can listen to
memories from park users and find out about the hidden gems in
the park.
The trail begins by the Pavilion Café, just
inside Crown Gate West, where you can hear how people power led to
the creation of the park.
Highlights on the tour include the origin of
the legend that is the Dogs of Alcibiades who guard the park, the
Burdett-Coutts Fountain which was donated by Angela Burdett-Coutts,
one of the wealthiest women in Victorian England and a great
philanthropist and finding out about the Alcoves which are the
surviving fragments of the original London
Bridge.
The Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman
officially unveiled Memoryscape last week and was joined by the
voices behind the recordings, residents and the Friends of Victoria
Park.
Mayor Rahman said: “I am pleased to be
launching this innovative scheme which will allow visitors to share
memories of the park with other users and delve into the
fascinating history of the people’s park.”
Cllr Rania Khan, cabinet member for Culture
added: “This is a wonderful addition to park which has recently
benefited from a multi-million pound refurbishment. Victoria Park
just keeps getting better and better!”
The Memoryscape Trail was designed by
University of East London history lecturer Toby Butler and composer
Lewis Gibson.
Toby said: “We hope through this trail park
users will get a deeper understanding of the park. As visitors
listen to the recording they will feel as though they are in a
bubble, for example the park may be quiet but the recording may be
busy with the sound of children, this change in sound creates a
unique experience that we feel the user will enjoy.”
Resident Terry Willetts from Bethnal Green
shared his memories of the park at the launch. The 71-year-old:
“The park has changed quite a bit. There used to be three large
ponds and you could do all sorts of activities.
“During the war they grew vegetables here, and
just on the far side of the park there used to be the German
prisoner camp. I remember the great storm of 1987 when 400 or so
trees were uprooted it was quite a site.”
Park users can listen to the audio trail by
downloading the whole trail or individual tracks to a personal
music device by visiting www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/parks
and clicking on Victoria Park.
Alternatively visit the Hub building in the
eastern side of the park and pick up an MP3 player with the trail
pre-loaded.
The route takes around one and half hours to
complete but you can listen to individual tracks or make your own
route.
October 10, 2012