History:Birchmeadow Playing Fields

From HandWiki

Birchmeadow Playing Field Site is a 5.3-hectare (13-acre) recreational area in Broseley, England, consisting of a mixture of woodland, play area, and a football pitch.[1] It was also one of the first places where a wooden railway was built.[2] The site is protected by Fields in Trust through a legal "Deed of Dedication" safeguarding the future of the space as public recreation land for future generations to enjoy.[3]

History

An ironworks was located on the site which is now called Birchmeadow playing fields.[1] It was served by one of the first railways in England, built in Broseley in 1605 by Richard Wilcox and William Wells.[2][4] After several weeks, employees of the nearby coalmaster Lord James Clifford vandalised and damaged the railway, possibly due to a rival rift between two coalmasters.[5]

Community spaces project

In November 2009 the Birchmeadow Park Management Committee was awarded £115,000 from various grant bodies to improve the park. The grant was spent on a new woodland path, an archway, the resurfacing of the car park, and a new play facility on the site.[1] The park is continuing to be developed and future projects include increasing woodland management, improving the football pitches, improving the changing rooms, and enhancing the landscaping of the park.[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Birchmeadow Playing Field". Shropshire Council. http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/outdoor-recreation/parks-and-countryside-sites/birchmeadow-playing-fields. Retrieved 17 August 2013. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 Lewis, M. J. T. (1974). Early Wooden Railways. Routledge & Kegan Paul PLC. pp. 95–108. ISBN 978-0710078186. 
  3. "Birchmeadow Park, Birchmeadow Road, Broseley, Shropshire, TF12 5AN". Fields in Trust. http://www.fieldsintrust.org/Birchmeadow-Park. Retrieved 23 July 2017. 
  4. Smith, R. S. (1960). "England's First Rails: a Reconsideration". Renaissance and Modern Studies 4: 125–8. doi:10.1080/14735786009391434. 
  5. A History of Shropshire: Volume X: Wenlock, Upper Corvedale, and the Stretton Hills. 1998. pp. 257–93. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22876. Retrieved 17 August 2013. 

External links

[ ⚑ ] 52°36′56″N 2°28′54″W / 52.6156°N 2.4816°W / 52.6156; -2.4816