A Brief History of Thompson Park

The official opening of Thompson Park took place on July 16th 1930 and a host of VIPs were in attendance. They included Arthur Race who had designed the park and the Mayor Henry Nuttall who officially opened the park, although it had been open to the public since May 1930. The park was created with money bequeathed to Burnley Corporation by James Witham Thompson. He died in 1920 at the age of 77 having been knocked down in a motor cycle accident. Much of the site of Thompson Park was formerly farmland of Lower Ridge Farm which was in existence until 1906. The Italian Garden in Thompson Park was created in what was formerly called Bank Hall Meadow. Bank Hall was the home of General Sir James Yorke Scarlett. In the Crimean War he led the successful Charge of the Heavy Brigade at Balaclava. General Scarlett died in 1871. Bank Hall was demolished in 1993 after a long and fascinating history. Bank Hall Meadow became part of the park in 1930 when the park opened. The Italian garden originally featured a small pond containing Goldfish. In the Second World War onions were grown in the Italian Garden.  The Conservatory was a feature of Thompson Park until 1975 and stood in the park near Ormerod Road. In October 1940 during the Second World War, a German bomb fell in the park close to the conservatory. The bomb damaged the conservatory and some of the houses and college in Ormerod Road. In April 1963 a pond and waterfall became new features of the conservatory and housed the goldfish from the pond in the Italian Garden. In 1975 the Conservatory was demolished despite protests. The Playground in Thompson Park was opened in 1932, the paddling pool has been there since the park opened in 1930. The Park Rangers Office was a very popular cafe and ice-cream shop from 1930 until about 1973. Near Thompson Park is the site of the Bank Hall coal pit. This site was in operation from 1869 until 1971 and from the playground it was possible to see a little Steam Engine pulling coal wagons along the mineral railway line. The site of this railway line is now a footpath. The site of the coal pit is now grassland and a car park, and has been since 1975. In 2001 the Burnley and Pendle Miniature Railway Society commenced the construction of the Thompson Park Railway on the site of the former “Open Air School” now encompassed in the boundaries of Thompson Park.