Queen’s Park in Bolton is set to celebrate its 160th anniversary this weekend with a free community event on Saturday, 23 May 2026. Residents are invited to join the festivities between 1pm and 3:30pm near the Pavilion café at the Mayor Street entrance to mark the milestone for one of the oldest public parks in the north of England.
The event is being organised by The Friends of Queens Park, a volunteer group that works alongside Bolton Council staff to maintain the grounds. The afternoon will feature a variety of activities, including traditional games, crafts, and face painting, as well as live music from the Farnworth and Walkden Brass Band. Guests can also enjoy dance performances by the Bolton School of Dance and Ajay’s Morris Dancers, medieval re-enactments by Historia Normannis, and storytelling sessions with children’s author Peter Brownlow. The Mayor of Bolton, Councillor Mohammed Iqbal, will be in attendance to officially open the celebration.
Originally opened as Bolton Park on 24 May 1866 by the Earl of Bradford, the 22-acre site was designed by William Henderson to provide employment for local workers during the Lancashire Cotton Famine. The park was later renamed Queen’s Park in 1897 to honour the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Following a period of disrepair in the 1980s and 90s, the space has undergone significant restoration, supported by a 4.286 million pound grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2009. These efforts have led to the park earning Green Flag status nine times since 2017.
Recent upgrades to the park include 17,000 pounds worth of repairs to the Victorian fountain, which has been restored to working order for the first time since 2019. Further improvements to the site have introduced new wildflower areas, a sensory garden, and cleared ponds along the River Croal to support local wildlife.
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