Court Hey Park 4.02

Court Hey Park is a park in the Bowring Park suburb of Knowsley borough in Merseyside, England. It lies about 4+1/2mi east of Liverpool city centre.HistoryCourt Hey Park can be traced back to 1783 when it was a farmer's field forming part of the estate of Lord Derby. The grounds were acquired by Robertson Gladstone (1805–1875) who was elder brother to the four times Prime Minister, William Gladstone.Robertson Gladstone married Mary Ellen Heywood-Jones in January 1836 and the mansion house, Court Hey Hall, was built the same year in the 60acre walled estate.Gladstone, who was a director of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, acquired the original sandstone railway sleepers once traversed by George Stephenson's world famous locomotive Rocket in 1842 when the railway was renovated. These were used to edge the main drives of the park and are still prominent today.The hall remained in the Gladstone family until the death of one of Robertson Gladstone's sons in 1919. In the same year it was bought by J. Bibby and Sons, a cattle food manufacturer. They established an experimental poultry and cattle feed farm and developed the park as a centre for sport and recreation.Recreation continued alongside a printing business, which was established in the grounds in 1923. Football, tennis, bowls and cricket were played in the park, while the hall was used for ballroom dances, billiards and other social activities.