Preston, Lancashire - Miller Park & Park Hotel - Valentine postcard c.1920s

Please ask if you need any other information and I will do the best I can to answer.

Image may be low res for illustrative purposes - if you need a higher definition image then please contact me and I may be able to send one. No cards have been trimmed (unless stated).

------------------------------------------------

Postage & Packing:

Postage and packing charge should be showing for your location (contact if not sure).

No additional charges for more than one postcard. You can buy as many postcards from me as you like and you will just pay the fee above once. Please wait for combined invoice. (If buying postcards with other things such as books, please contact or wait for invoice before paying).

Payment Methods:

UK - PayPal, Cheque (from UK bank) or postal order

Outside UK: PayPal ONLY (unless otherwise stated) please.   NO non-UK currency checks or money orders (sorry).

NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

I will give a full refund if you are not fully satisfied with the postcard.

----------------------------------------------

Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

*************

Miller Park is a public park under the management of Preston City Council. It is located on the banks of the River Ribble in Preston, Lancashire in the north west of England. The park is one of two city centre Victorian era parks, the other being the adjacent and larger Avenham Park. It was designed and built in the 1860s and has matured over the last 140 years into one of the most attractive parks in the region. As an English Heritage Grade II* listedpark,^[1] it features a number of historical structures including a sundial, a grotto and a fountain. There is also an impressive statue of the 14th Earl of Derby who was British Prime Minister 1866 - 1868 [1]. The two parks are separated by the East Lancashire Railway embankment and access is through the Ivy Bridge and along Riverside Walk. The East Lancashire Railway line closed in the 1970s although the viaduct across the river, which is a Grade II listed building, remains, as it carries a public footpath across the river. The west edge of the park is bounded by the embankment carrying Preston's main rail link, the West Coast Main Line.

The land for the park was donated by local cotton manufacturer Thomas Miller (1811-1865) in 1864. The house that he built for himself, in 1845, stands on the north side of Winckley Square and bears a blue plaque in his honour. The park was designed by Edward Milner as a 'Harmonious Whole' including the adjacent Avenham Park. This park is more formal than its neighbour and includes beautiful bedding displays, a Rose Garden and the regal Derby Walk, all of which are maintained by Preston City Council's Horticultural Services. It is overlooked by the East Cliff offices of Lancashire County Council which are spread between the former Park Hotel and the adjacent modern concrete office block.

Apart from this office block, the appearance of the park has hardly changed since it was first laid out; the only other modern construction, a brick toilet block, was demolished in March 2006. A map of 1889 [2] still provides an accurate representation of the park's layout.

Preston's Avenham Park, Moor Park and Miller Park were inaugurated on the same day that the former Town Hall was opened in 1867. On September 28, 1867 the Preston Chronicle commented that the preparations were in place and that the expectation was that "…….we shall have a gayer, a busier, and a more bustling town than we have had on any previous occasion, excepting, perhaps, at some of our Guilds".^[2] The following week's edition for October 5, 1887 devoted several columns to "The Opening of the New Town Hall and Inauguration of the Parks". It was a civic event of considerable size and importance and when the opening ceremony for the town hall was concluded a procession was formed which made its way to Avenham and Miler Parks. Schoolchildren from across Preston had gathered in the parks and it was estimated that 23,000 to 25,000 were present. The Duke of Cambridge, cousin to Queen Victoria, was in attendance and the band of the Third Royal Lancashire Militia entertained the crowds.^[3]