East Park, Wolverhampton

East Park is a park in Wolverhampton, England. The Wolverhampton ward population taken at the 2011 census was 12,497. Situated off Hickman Avenue, near Monmore Green stadium, the park has good transport links to the city centre.

Its name is also used for the East Park ward, which covers the Monmore Green and Deansfield areas.

Work began on the original design "Utile Dolci" by Thomas Mawson on 18 hectares of land donated by the Duke of Sutherland, Sir Alfred Hickman, and Mr Arther Sparrow in 1892, with the park opening for business on 21 September 1896.

The original design included a boating lake; however this was beset with problems as old coal mines that were previously there began to drain the water from the lake. Despite great efforts to save the lake, it was grassed over in 1922 and is now part of a children's playground and all weather sports pitch. This has since been turned into a car park in 2013.

The park includes The Lysaght Memorial Clock Tower, however this has been out of order for over 30 years although rumors continue to circulate that funding will become available to refurbish this in the near future (Work started in 2013), and a small band stand originally funded by the proceeds of a floral fete. Although presently (2012) repairable according to The Scottish Ironwork Database (http://www.scottishironwork.org/catdetail.asp?ironid=25956) the bandstand is currently considered to be "at risk" having suffered years of neglect and vandalism.

Current facilities include football pitches, tennis courts, children's playgrounds, cycle speedway, fitness and exercise equipment alongside gardens, walkways and flower beds.

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