Exhibition Park, Newcastle

The Exhibition Park is a short walk from Newcastle City Centre.

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

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

Until 1983 a Science Museum was located in the Exhibition Park pavilion. The museum was founded in 1934. It housed for a period Turbinia. The collections in the main transferred to Discovery Museum. A military vehicle museum was then housed here 1983-2006.

The city council put the building up for sale in 2011, declaring that it could no longer afford repairs. It was purchased by Shepherd Offshore Ltd who stated that they intended to create a collection of horse-drawn carriages and vintage automobiles. The planned opening date is Easter 2015.

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 1986 when a £60,000 loss was recorded.

Al mela (a celebration of Asian cuisine, music and art) is held annually over the August bank holiday weekend.

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Wikipedia