The Exhibition Park is a short walk from Newcastle

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

 City Centre.

History

The 1870 Town Moor Improvement Act determined that 2 x 35acres of land to be developed for recreation one would become Leazes Park

Leazes Park

Leazes Park is a park in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It lies to the west of the city centre. It is the city's oldest park, opened in 1873. It contains a lake above the course of the Lort Burn...

 and one at the Town Moor

Town Moor, Newcastle upon Tyne

The Town Moor is a large area of common land in Newcastle upon Tyne. It covers an area of around 400ha, and is larger than Hyde Park and Hampstead Heath combined, stretching from the city centre and Spital Tongues in the south out to Cowgate/Kenton Bar to the west, Gosforth to the north and...

. The original location of the park was to be the Bull Park where the City’s bull was penned for stud. The site was the wedge of land at the corner of Claremont Road and the Great North Road. Later this land became the Hancock Museum

Hancock Museum

The Hancock Museum is a museum of natural history in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, established in 1884. In 2006 it merged with Newcastle University's Hatton Gallery to form the Great North Museum. The museum and all of its collections are owned by the Natural History Society of Northumbria,...

. The committee realised that the Bull Park was too small for the Exhibition and requested Town moor recreation ground. This is where the current park is now. The Royal Jubilee Exhibition was duly held in 1887 and proved a tremendous success and attracted 2,000,000 visitors.

The name Exhibition Park was first used during the Jubilee Exhibition of 1887 but the old name of Bull Park remained for some time. The only remaining item from the 1887 Exhibition is the bandstand.

The North East Coast Exhibition

This exhibition was held at the Exhibition Park from May to October 1929 and was opened by HRH the Prince of Wales

Edward VIII of the United Kingdom

Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...

 on 14 May 1929. It was a symbol of pride and industrial success of the region and at the same time an advertisement for local industry and commerce. The disused military museum is the only building still remaining in the park today from this exhibition.

• During 24 weeks operation a total of 4,373,138 people attended.
• Gold watches were given to each one-millionth visitor.
• Only seven criminal offences recorded (six drunken offences and 1 pick pocketing)
• It closed on 26 October 1929 with a massive fire works display.

Tyneside Summer Exhibition

This event began to be held by the city council in the 1960s, and attempted to capture many of the elements of the earlier exhibitions, however, it was last held in 1987 when a £60,000 loss was recorded.

Facilities

• There are two croquet lawns, two tennis courts and one basketball court.
• There is a fenced playground with safety surface containing swings, slides, climbing frames, spring toys and seating.
• A disused boating lake.
• A disused crazy golf course.
• A park café (rarely open, and during spring and summer months only).
• A skatepark has been developed at the main entrance to Exhibition Park.

Events in the Park

There is the annual MELA held on the August bank holiday weekend, which is a celebration of Asian cuisine, music and art.

Transport links

The nearest Metro

Tyne and Wear Metro

The Tyne and Wear Metro, also known as the Metro, is a light rail system in North East England, serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside and Sunderland. It opened in 1980 and in 2007–2008 provided 40 million public journeys on its network of nearly...

 and bus stations are at the Haymarket

Newcastle Haymarket

Haymarket is an area in the north of the city centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, England.The area functions as a public transport hub with Eldon Square bus station, Haymarket bus station and Haymarket Metro station located next to each other....

and a taxi rank is located at Park Terrace near The Park entrance.

External links

• http://www.exhibitionpark.co.uk/
• Exhibition Park www.newcastle.gov.uk
• Photos Timmonet Newcastle Archive
• Military Vehicle Museum / Palace of Arts Google Earth 3D model