One of Birmingham’s biggest parks will celebrate its 150th anniversary by stepping back into the Victorian era this month.
The massive park is made up of 80 acres of formal parkland and 120 acres of conservation and woodland plantation and is home to the Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Centre and the mac theatre. The Green Flag Award-winning Cannon Hill Park was designed by Mr T J Gibson, who also designed Battersea Park in London.
It was turned into a park after philanthropist Louisa Ryland gifted 57 acres of meadowland to Birmingham. The park opened to visitors in 1873 and is home to a grade II listed bandstand that was part of the original layout. It is also home to a pub constructed around 1520 that was originally a Guild House that stood in Deritend High Street - on the opposite side of the road to The Old Crown.
It has been used for many purposes like a school, housing for the clergy, and later a tannery and a pub. It fell into disrepair and was under threat of demolition in 1910. It was bought by a local and relocated brick-by-brick to Cannon Hill Park in Moseley - where it now sits.
A massive celebration will take place on Saturday 9 September to celebrate the public space - which has been the site for the Olympic relay in 2012 to the Rover march and much more. Here are 20 photos of the historic park to celebrate the occasion:
5. Suzy and Owen Richards, whose relatives died in a terror attack in Tunisia in 2015, at Cannon Hill Park
Suzy and Owen Richards, whose relatives died in a terror attack in Tunisia in 2015, read a poem during the dedication ceremony for the Sousse and Bardo Memorial in Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, central England on March 4, 2019. - The memorial pays tribute to the victims of the two terrorist attacks which took place in Tunisia in 2015. (Photo by OLI SCARFF / POOL / AFP) (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images
6. Britain’s Prince Harry at the Sousse and Bardo Memorial in Cannon Hill Park
Britain’s Prince Harry at the Sousse and Bardo Memorial in Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, central England on March 4, 2019. - The memorial pays tribute to the victims of the two terrorist attacks which took place in Tunisia in 2015. (Photo by OLI SCARFF / POOL / AFP) (Photo -OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images
7. Prince Harry at Cannon Hill Park
Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, lays a floral tribute following his dedication of the Sousse and Bardo Memorial in Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, central England on March 4, 2019. - The memorial pays tribute to the victims of the two terrorist attacks which took place in Tunisia in 2015. (Photo - OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images
8. Chad Thomas and Ben Giddings of rock five piece Morning Parade perform
Chad Thomas and Ben Giddings of rock five piece Morning Parade perform at the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay Special City Celebration at Canon Hill Park Birmingham, presented by Coca-Cola at Cannon Hill Park on June 30, 2012 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images for Coca-Cola) | Getty Images for Coca-Cola