No 83 -  Bandstand and Pavilion, Hanley Park

a view of Hanley Park from Mawson Grove

Thomas Mawson, a landscape architect who later developed international distinction, designed Hanley Park  - this was one of his early commissions.  

Mawson designed gardens in various parts of Britain, and others in Europe and Canada. In 1908 he won a competition to lay out the Peace Palace gardens at The Hague.

From 1910 to 1924 Mawson lectured frequently at the school of civic design, Liverpool University In 1923 he became president of the Town Planning Institute, and in 1929 the first president of the Institute of Landscape Architects.

The park was developed on a large area of waste ground called 'Stoke Fields' - the park is 'cut in two' by the Caldon Canal (which was opened 1777) and a number of bridges in the park cross over the canal. 

The bandstand was the benefaction of George Howson (1818-96). - A Chartist sympathiser, Methodist and a pottery manufacturer at the Eastwood Works, Hanley. 

He was associated (along with J W Powell) in the development of music in the area. Howson founded a scholarship for North Staffordshire students in the Tonic Sol-Fa College, London

"This ornate bandstand and pavilion are situated in the middle of Hanley Park. These beautiful gardens and amenities occupy a site that was once part of Shelton Hall Estate. It is the largest park in the City and covers an area of over 62 acres. The bandstand, built in 1896, commemorates a Mr. George Howson, "whose soul was full of music." The pavilion, built the same year, at one time had the protection of two Russian cannons which had been moved from Etruria Hall. The boating lake was filled with water from the Cauldon Canal, and the park opened on Jubilee Day, June 20th, 1897.

One very popular annual event was the Hanley Park Fete, from 1897 until 1939. It was modelled on the well-known Shrewsbury Flower Show, and included a variety of sideshows, a Pat Collins Fair, and always ended with a spectacular fireworks display.

Another important event which spanned the same years was the Hanley Horse Parade, later known as the Potteries Central Horse Parade. The competitions, which ranged from ponies to great shirehorses, were open to anyone who lived within a ten-mile radius of Hanley. The growth of motor transport and subsequent decline in the demand for drayhorses, plus the outbreak of war, spelt the end of this gay and splendid show."

Neville Malkin 5th June 1974