Sefton Park 5.77

Sefton Park is a public park in south Liverpool, England. The park is in a district of the same name, located roughly within the historic bounds of the large area of Toxteth Park. Neighbouring districts include modern-day Toxteth, Aigburth, Mossley Hill, Wavertree and St Michael's Hamlet.The park is 235acre in area and is designated by English Heritage at Grade I in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.HistoryThe site of the park was once within the boundaries of the 2300acre Royal Deer Park of Toxteth which became "disparked" in 1591. The land eventually came under the control of the Earl of Sefton.As Toxteth rapidly grew, the green fields and woodland of Toxteth Park grew into narrow streets and courts packed by tiny uninhabitable houses where the air was stagnant, there was little or no sanitation and running water consisted of one tap in the middle of the court. At the same time there was demand for large aristocratic mansions in the South of Liverpool. In 1862 the Borough Council Engineer recommended a site for this development. The Public Works (Manufacturing Districts) Act 1864 permitted corporations to borrow sums of money of up to half a million pounds to be repaid over thirty years. This allowed steps to be taken towards the purchase of land for Sefton Park. In 1867 the Council purchased 375acre of land for the development of the park for £250,000 from the Earl of Sefton.