Hedgemead Park collaborative project exhibition now ongoing

May 17th – November 1st

The Museum has been working with the Friends of Hedgemead Park on a collaborative project concerned with the history of this local park, the crowded district of homes and their residents. Volunteer Stephanie Stewart and Stuart Burroughs have worked with Nigel Long of the Hedgemead Friends on an exhibition and a series of outdoor walks which will be held in July.

Prior to the 18th century the Hedgemead Park area was open ground, considered too steep or useful for housing. Speculative builders in the early 19th century filled the space between London Street and Camden Crescent with rows of terraced properties and commercial yards. The unstable land caused a series of landslips in the 1870s and 1880s and the site was eventually cleared and the land laid out as a public park.

The chequered story of this area is told in great detail in the exhibition which includes photographs not seen before of the area prior to the landslips and the fascinating story of the funicular railway planned to run up the hillside to Lansdown which was never built.

A series of walks are planned on Saturday Mornings. The charge is £5.00 per person. If the dates need to be changed owing to government restrictions we will let you know.

  1. Before the Park: A Guided Walk exploring the Heritage of the Grounds. Stuart Burroughs and Stephanie Stuart. Meet at Bandstand at 11.00 a.m.Saturday July 17th
  2. The Public Houses of Hedgemead and Walcot: A Guided Walk exploring an aspect of commercial life in Hedgemead before and after the landslips: Dr Andrew Swift Meet at Bandstand at 11.00 a.m.Saturday July 24th
  3. The Park and its Development:A Guided Walk by Nigel Pollard of Friends of Hedgemead Park Meet at Park Gate opposite St Swithin’s Church at 11.00 a.m. Saturday July 31st.

Make payment online to:

  • Account Name Bath Industrial Heritage Trust Limited
  • Bank Barclays Bank, Southgate Street Branch
  • Account No 20141615
  • Sort Code 20-05-06
  • Or send cheque to Museum of Bath at Work Julian Road BATH made out to Bath Industrial Heritage Trust

To coincide with the Exhibition the ‘Friends’ have also published a book – The History ofHedgemead Park by Nigel Pollard.

This fully illustrated book, researched from the original Council records and local Newspaper reports, puts together the story of the people who championed the idea of the area as an ‘open space’, designing, creating, and later extending it to become the park we know and appreciate today. 

The book will be available from both the Museum of Bath at Work shop, and at Mr B’s Emporium, in John Street priced at £15.99.