Sunderland's historic Backhouse Park celebrates centenary with blue plaque installation

2022 marks 100 years since Backhouse Park was gifted to Sunderland – and now a blue plaque at the Ryhope Road entrance honours its legacy.

The park has a long history in the city and was originally the garden for Ashburne House. Once the grounds for the grand family home of Thomas William Backhouse, he gifted the park, formerly Ashburne Park, to the Corporation of Sunderland in 1922 who named it Backhouse Park in his honour.

Hugely influential on Wearside, the Backhouses were Quaker bankers who had the house and gardens built for them. Passionate horticulturalists and botanists, they left a rich legacy in the city and it was philanthropist Edward Backhouse, who became one of the founding fathers of the Sunderland Echo in 1873.

Unveiling the plaque, Honorary Alderman, Mark Greenfield, said: “A legacy of the works of the Backhouse family and the generous gift to Sunderland is that many of the original trees still stand within the park and themes of growth are continued, including a noted collection of acer, Betula, malus and prunus trees.

"In recent years the park has benefited from fantastic partnership works between the council and partners including Local Services, ICOS, Friends of Backhouse Park, Mr Kirtley and family (who now own Ashburne House) and full support of ward members.

"A few of the many recent enhancements have included introduction of a wildflower meadow, Jubilee-themed planted bed, former water fountain planted bed, whip and tree planting, bulb planting, stream clearances, fairy trail, various wildlife works and many community events amongst others.”

In recent times, volunteers from ICOS (International Community Organisation of Sunderland) and East Rangers, working with East Local Services, have made many improvements to the park including tree planting to replace storm-damaged trees.

Other improvement works carried out by the rangers include information panels, regular litter picking, an annual photography competition and the creation of a fairy trail at the park.

Future plans include an interactive game in the park and fundraising to install children’s gym equipment.

Unlike other parks in the city, Backhouse Park, which has entrance gates in Ashbrooke and Ryhope Road, is a little less manicured as it encourages wildflower growth for insects and other wildlife.