Peel Park at 180: The restoration and revival of Salford’s historic green space

From silver screen star to civic trailblazer, Peel Park turns 180 – with volunteers keeping this historic green space thriving for the future.

Shoemaker’s daughter Maggie Hobson strides confidently into her local park dressed in Sunday best, before descending a steep flight of steps to meet her ‘beau’, boot hand Will Mossop, to begin their unlikely courtship.

Two key characters in David Lean’s renowned 1954 comedy Hobson’s Choice brought one of Britain’s premier city spaces back into the public gaze, as cinema captured the scale and drama of Peel Park, Salford.

In 2024, the park marked the film’s 70th anniversary by re-enacting scenes shot in what is arguably the city’s most famous green space. This year brings another milestone. Sprawling across 56 acres of undulating landscape beside the River Irwell and forming part of its floodplain, Peel Park celebrates 180 years since opening in 1846, with phased extensions through the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Created by the local authority, Peel Park was Salford’s – and possibly the world’s – first public park. Named in honour of policing pioneer Sir Robert Peel, it sits alongside the city’s university, museum and art gallery. The museum is among the earliest public institutions of its kind in Britain, while the adjacent library is reported to be the country’s first free public library when it opened in 1850. Together, they represented landmark Victorian social reform.

Peel was the first of three public parks to open on 22 August 1846 for the people of Manchester and Salford, paid for by public subscription and established at the heart of a major industrial city. Its history includes hosting Queen Victoria during her 1851 royal visit, while local artist L S Lowry painted the park on several occasions, capturing its place in Salford life.

Hard times

Fortunes shifted in the later 20th century, when Peel Park fell into disrepair. Better days arrived in October 2017, when a rejuvenated space reopened following a £1.6m refurbishment, supported by a Parks for People Heritage Lottery grant and Big Lottery funding.

The aim was to return Peel Park “to its 1890 glory” while creating an attractive, accessible space for 21st-century living. The project involved extensive landscaping, restoration of historic features and improved paths, terraces, seating and lighting, with accessibility central to the design. Stronger connections were also created between the park, the museum and art gallery, and the riverside walkways near the University of Salford campus.

Modern features were carefully introduced, including two 2.8m Way2Go monoliths as part of the Irwell Sculpture Trail, engraved with quatrefoil path shapes reflecting the historic layout. A fully equipped play area for children aged four to 14 was also installed. The statue of Joseph Brotherton, Salford’s first MP, once again took pride of place, though intriguingly, one of Sir Robert Peel never featured.

In December 2023, Historic England added Peel Park to the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens, recognising its importance within Britain’s public green space heritage.

“The park offers a uniquely protected environment,” explains David Marsden, secretary of the Friends of Peel Park. “It sits in a low-lying valley accessed from higher ground, and parts of it provide a sheltered habitat that attracts a wide diversity of wildlife.”

Like many sport, leisure and amenity spaces, Peel Park relies on a resilient group of volunteers to maintain standards, foster community activities and, as David puts it, “make the park a pleasant place to spend time”.

“Volunteering is a great way to get out, get fit and meet new people,” says David, a corporate travel consultant who became involved during Covid. “I had plenty of spare time, and this felt like a really positive way to use it.”

Beyond the social benefits, the six-strong core group performs vital year-round work, from litter picking and planting new specimen trees sourced from different continents to tending Peel’s signature quatrefoil bedding area. Students from the University of Salford help plant wildflower beds and cut back invasive vegetation, while Oldham College Level 1 and 2 horticulture learners also contribute.

Peel Park has no permanent on-site park staff, operating instead within a familiar structure: a head ranger overseeing multiple sites, supported by five rangers working across Salford’s green spaces.

“Salford places a high priority on its green spaces,” David explains. “The rangers encourage volunteering through weekly Friday sessions, and we work alongside green space officers to deliver recreation and heritage activities.”

Salford City Council’s maintenance department handles large-scale work, including using robotic mowers on the park’s steep grassed slopes. “Heavier machinery is shared across sites,” David adds. “We don’t store it here. The lottery grant funded our hand tools – spades, trowels, wheelbarrows – which we use constantly.”

The Friends of Peel Park formed in 2010 to help address neglect and safety concerns. “This wasn’t seen as a safe space,” David recalls. “Overgrown shrubs created hiding places and students avoided walking through the park.”

The group’s formation paved the way for the successful lottery bid and subsequent refurbishment, including reshaping the iconic quatrefoil beds to reflect earlier designs. “We manage these areas,” David says. “After Covid, we shifted from annuals to perennials and herbaceous planting to attract insects.”

Salford’s maintenance team looks after other beds with bold planting schemes, including cadmium yellows and soft pinks that echo the grand civic displays once common across Britain’s towns and cities.

Bridges spanning the Irwell connect the main park to Crescent Meadow, set within a horseshoe bend of the river. “It’s mown just twice a year and largely left to nature,” David explains. “Because it’s protected from development, it’s become a haven for wildlife.”

Species recorded include great crested newts, swallows and swifts, alongside a rich mix of flora and fauna. While Peel Park boasts prominent tree specimens from around the world, challenges remain. “Some ash trees are marked for removal due to dieback,” David notes.

The Friends run a sapling nursery and work with City of Trees to introduce new specimens. Education is central to the approach, with a tree trail featuring plaques and QR codes linking visitors to information about each species.

Partnerships extend across the park. The university’s wildlife society supports litter picks, Go Green Week is an annual fixture, and March brings BioBlitz, with bat walks, mammal surveys and wildlife photography sessions. Of the two other parks opened in 1846, Phillips Park still exists. “It’s been allowed to evolve naturally,” David says. “It’s very different to the more manicured approach here.”

Hobson’s heritage

“Hobson’s Choice reminds us that green spaces were once the preserve of the privileged,” David reflects. “There’s still a sense of class divide within Peel Park.” Director David Lean subtly captured this, with Maggie descending the steps to meet Will by the polluted Irwell, while her younger sister and lawyer fiancé lingered in comfort above.

To mark the 180th anniversary, the Friends hope to recreate a scene from the film using living history actors on 22 August, the park’s official opening date.

Meanwhile, maintaining standards remains a constant challenge as visitor numbers grow. “We’re always weeding, cleaning bridges and tackling litter,” David says. “High tides bring Himalayan balsam and giant hogweed along the riverbanks, though the council is quick to deal with those.”

Peel Park also hosts the Parkrun phenomenon, now in its third year and attracting around 700 runners each week. “We pop over beforehand to make sure everything’s ready,” David smiles.

Major events include Salford Pride’s Big Picnic in June, when up to 8,000 people fill the central gardens.

As our conversation ends, David neatly sums up Peel Park’s enduring role: “I live on the seventeenth floor of a nearby tower block, so this is my back garden; I love nature, and Peel Park gives me space to breathe.”