Volunteer historians will lead drop-in talks and walks around Eaton Park in Norwich on Saturday 19 September as the Grade II* listed green space throws open its doors for Heritage Open Day. The free event, hosted by the Friends of Eaton Park at the Friends Room near the bandstand, forms part of the wider Norfolk Heritage Open Days festival.
The festival runs from 11 to 20 September and features hundreds of free events across the county, coordinated by The Forum Trust. Visitors to the park can step inside stories of its creation and the people who shaped the 80-acre site, which opened in May 1928 when the Prince of Wales officially inaugurated what was hailed as one of eastern England’s finest sports grounds. Captain Arnold Sandys-Winsch, Norwich City Parks and Gardens Superintendent for 34 years from 1919, designed the park as his prestige project on former grazing land the city had purchased in 1906.
The park retains its original layout, including the central bandstand, colonnaded pavilion, lily pond, and formal entrance gates. It is the largest of five registered parks Sandys-Winsch laid out in Norwich, the others being Wensum Park, Waterloo Park, Heigham Park, and Mile Cross Gardens. The Friends of Eaton Park continue to champion its upkeep, organising regular bandstand concerts, nature walks, and volunteer gardening sessions throughout the year.
Historic England added Eaton Park to the National Heritage List at Grade II* in October 1993, recognising its special historic and architectural interest. A late-1990s restoration backed by the Heritage Lottery Fund revived the central fountain, rills, and circular pond. Full details of the Heritage Open Day programme, which includes discovering the contribution of those who built and maintain the park, will be available in the Norfolk Heritage Open Days brochure.
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