RSA Newcastle Network: Friends of Leazes Park

Newcastle Encounter meets on the third Wednesday of every month. This months' meetup will be hosted by George Stoker at Ampersand Inventions. This month, we will be hearing about Parks and Allotments Trust, and the Friends of Leazes Park - a historical communal space in Newcastle.

Marion Williams, a founder director of the Parks and Allotments Trust and a director of the Friends of Leazes Park, will give an illustrated talk and discuss a shared vision for the Park, inviting fellows to contribute their thoughts and ideas.

Leazes Park is called the People’s Park, which goes far back in to it’s history. The tract of land on which the park is built has a history going back to the 13th century when King John gave the land to the townsmen of Newcastle to be used for grazing their cattle. The area includes Castle Leazes and the adjacent Town Moor which are also preserved as valuable green spaces in the city. In the mid-1800s, nearly 3,000 ‘working men of Newcastle’ petitioned to for open ground for the purpose of health and recreation, and the ‘people’s park’ was opened after 16 years of design in December 1873. 

However, despite lots of visitors to this beautiful Grade II listed park, funding has been massively reduced in recent years, and it is now one of the Parks that has been passed over to the Newcastle Parks & Allotments Trust, an independent charity responsible for the management and upkeep of the city's 33 parks and 64 allotment sites.   

Join us from 6pm to hear more about this, and as usual there will be an opportunity after the speakers for Fellows to chat about what interests them, share ideas, and find out more about Fellow-led projects.

If you have any access requirements or require any reasonable adjustments, please let the team know: [email protected]. Please also let us know if you have any dietary requirements or severe allergies.

Please follow the ‘Book Now’ link above to register your place.

Meet from 6pm. Everyone is welcome and these events are free to attend.

Location: Ampersand Inventions, Fourth Floor, Commercial Union House, 39 Pilgrim Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6QE