Geograph - photograph every grid square

Williamson Park in north Lancaster was created on the site of several disused stone quarries. It was first laid out in 1877 and built between 1879 and 1891 for James Williamson, an alderman of Lancaster and a very successful local linoleum manufacturer. The development of the park was continued by his son, also called James, who became the first Baron Ashton who added the park's crowning glory the Ashton Memorial.The landscaper was John Maclean of Castle Donington. In the 1990s the park was extended by the addition of land on Fenham Carr, previously part of the Lancaster Moor Hospital Estate, such that it now extends to 54 acres (21.7ha).
The creation of the park provided much-needed work for the local population that had been hit hard by the "cotton famine" itself a result of the American Civil War.
The park today contains woodland, gardens and lakes and is a beautiful setting for the dramatic Ashton Memorial (see separate description) which rises on a hill in the midst of the park. Entry to the park and the ground floor of the memorial is free, with a small charge (50p in 2012) to climb to the viewing gallery of the memorial.