We’ve put together a guide to Sunderland’s parks and the stories behind them, from the smallest pocket park to a landmark park which was created in response to the Cholera epidemic.
1. Doxford Park
Doxford Park doesn't get as many visitors as larger parks, but it's steeped in history and character. Originally a garden for the home of shipbuilder Charles Doxford, Doxford Hall and its grounds were bequeathed to the city in the late 1960s. Friends of Doxford Park do a great job of promoting the park and before lockdown were running a crowdfunding campaign to enhance the city's only walled garden. Known as the 'Secret Garden', it's housed within the park. Photo: JPI Media
2. Mowbray Park, city centre
Mowbray Park first opened in 1857, following a public health enquiry into the cholera epidemic of the 1840s. The enquiry recommended that a park should be built so that people in Sunderland could get more fresh air and exercise. Parliament gave the city £750 for land. The Council bought the land from the Mowbray family and the park was named after them. Over the decades it suffered much war damage and vandalism but in 1994, a £4 million Heritage Lottery grant allowed work to start on restoring the park to its former Victorian glory, and rebuilding the Winter Gardens. The Park re-opened in 2000, with many of its old features restored or recreated, alongside new and imaginative additions. Mowbray Park is recognised by English Heritage as a park of special historic interest, as it is one of the oldest public parks in the North East and an integral part of the heritage and daily life of the city centre. Photo: Frank Reid
3. Elemore Country Park, Easington Lane
Elemore Country Park in Easington Lane is Sunderland's newest park after transforming the former Elemore Golf Club which stood on the old Elemore Colliery site. Opening in April 2023, it features a new cafe and garden centre as well as forestry and lake improvements. Photo: Tim Richardson
4. Backhouse Park, Ashbrooke
Not as manicured as Mowbray Park or as bonny as Barnes Park, but Backhouse Park has a more rural, escapist feel. Thomas William Backhouse gifted the park, formerly Ashburne Park, to the Corporation of Sunderland in 1922 who named it Backhouse Park. Photo: JPI Media