LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING People's Park lies at the heart of the residential area of south Grimsby. The c 9.3ha site is located within an area of substantial villa housing which dates from 1890 to 1930. Welholme Road marks the park's northern boundary, and the U-shaped Park Drive, designated as a private road when the park was opened, delineates the remainder of the park to the east, south, and west. The boundaries of the park are now almost totally open except for a fence and hedge which runs along the north-east boundary for c 130m to protect the aviary and Floral Hall. In 1883, Mr Bennie of Hull was instructed to enclose the main area of the park with iron railings. The 1889 OS map confirms that a barrier was erected along the length of the park's northern perimeter, segregating the park from the public road. A contemporary illustration from the Illustrated London News of 25 August 1883, commemorating the park's opening, shows what appears to be estate railings along the Welholme Road. Contrary to the 1883 Minutes there is no evidence that the remainder of the park was enclosed. The 1889 OS map shows no enclosure and subsequent editions continue to show an open relationship between the park and the once-private encircling Park Drive.
The site is principally flat and level, as is the surrounding land. Modulations of land however were created in the design, the most obvious being the mounds around the lake which were formed from the spoil resulting from its excavation. A number of groups of trees and shrubs are also present on raised ground, as is a double avenue, particularly in the south and west.
The park is delineated by a shin-high wooden railing, thus allowing pedestrian access and sight-lines into the park.
ENTRANCES AND APPROACHES The principal approach route from the town centre enters at the park's north-east corner but the open nature of the site and its location allows access directly into the park from all directions. At the time of its opening, the south and east margins were still agricultural land (OS 1st edition 1889), and the majority of users would have approached the park from Grimsby to the north via the north-east gate where the lodge, built c 1885-9, was situated. Gates were originally built at the east and west junctions of Park Drive and Welholme Road; these were removed in 1943, and in 1966 the lodge was demolished and replaced with a bungalow that is now partly hidden from view by mature shrubberies.
Three further entrance paths give access from the north-west corner, the west boundary, and the centre of the south boundary; a fifth path, introduced between 1908 and 1933, gives access from the centre of the east boundary. A path leads from the west to the bandstand which overlooks the cricket field to the east. The present (2013) bandstand was erected in 1995 and replaced a rustic timber construction which was demolished in 1993.
GARDENS AND PLEASURE GROUNDS The park is 'U' shaped on plan. A double avenue of trees, which formerly incorporated many elms, marks the park's perimeter. The majority of these were lost to Dutch elm disease in the 1970s and the avenues have subsequently been replaced. One notable wych elm still stands (2013) adjacent to the east entrance path.
Set within the avenue is the park's principal path. A circular route in a figure of eight configuration, it encompasses the lake to the north and the open grassland (originally designated as a cricket field) to the south. Shrubberies, planted on small mounds at path intersections, articulate the picturesque nature of the circulation. In between the shrubberies the planting around the cricket field in the southern half of the park in particular is restricted to specimen trees to allow the exchange of views across the site.
The 0.4ha informal lake lies in the northern half of the park and is part of the original layout. Water is supplied from boreholes that are drilled into the underlying chalk. The edge of the lake is constructed in stone setts, as are the margins of the three small islands. An asphalt path runs around most of the lake's perimeter. This path was introduced in the middle of the C20 and the original layout shows grass and copses running to the lake margins (OS 1889). The path at the west end of the lake is cut into the highest mound on the site, on the top of which stood one of the two bandstands (demolished between 1960 and 1990). The gentle slopes on the west of the mound are laid out as a formal bedding display, although it is likely that this area was once designed for the bandstand concert audiences. A tongue of land projects into the lake's southern margin. Brickwork delineated the footprint of the Refreshment Room on the grass, and two later C20 utilitarian toilet blocks stood either side of this; these were demolished and replaced c 2006.
In the north-west corner of the park, a sunken circular area is screened with mature shrubs and trees. Once the formal rose garden, the space is now (2013) restored back to the appearance of the small circular area, whilst the children's play facilities that once stood in there have been moved and updated providing better facilities (formerly at TA26890843 moved to TA26890834). Immediately to the south of the entrance to the circular enclosure, and easily viewed from the principal path, is the Smethurst Monument (listed Grade II), erected in 1894.
The north-east corner, between the figure of eight path and Welholme Road, is the only area of the park that is enclosed and access is restricted to one gate from the path to the north of the lake. The distinctive double avenue of trees has not been retained. Glasshouses constructed c 1889-1908 were replaced by the Floral Hall in 1975 (restored 2004). A flood warning mast and siren was constructed next to the Floral Hall c 2005.