Orford Park has a history going back hundreds of years. Until 1935, a hall had stood in the park grounds since the 13th Century and has been famous for its outstanding collection of rare plants, trees and unusual animals. The grounds also had an orangery where citrus fruits were grown.
In 1833 William Beamont, the first Mayor of Warrington, leased the hall (after his death, his wife continued to live there until she died). In 1916 the hall and 18 acres of grounds were purchased for the sum of £3,600 from Colonel Robert Ireland Blackburne as a gift and memorial for the town of Warrington – for “… the lads of Warrington who had fought and died in the Great War”.
The grounds were opened as a public park on 4th August 1917 and the place we now know as Orford Park has already been through some dramatic changes.
If you are interested in the history or the Orford area and want to share your memories, you are welcome to join the Orford Memories Group that meet on the second Wednesday of every month at Orford Library at 6pm. For further details view the leaflet attached. Orford_Memories_Group.pdf