You all must know ‘Stanley Rec’ (Stanley Recreation Ground) especially if you are a 70’s child who has played there on the swings, or before that, if you played or watched cricket.
I regularly walk through Stanley Rec on an early morning walk and it occurred to me that a lump of marble/stone was battered near the walkway. People always sitting on it or around it as a meeting point. I had known a lot earlier that the play area had been ‘given’ to the people of Peterborough by a wealthy family who’d worked in the city. but I was curious now that it had been upgraded and wanted to find out more about this man and his family. So I dug a little deeper.
I found that, actually, the ground had been given by the wife (Mrs Jane Stanley nee Perkins) of local businessman William Proctor Stanley Esquire in his honour way back in 1860 after he sadly passed away after a long and painful illness at the young age of 49 in 1848.
So here’s their story….William Proctor Stanley owned and ran an iron works business right in the middle of the town centre: Queen Street Stanley Iron Works, we can’t imagine that now as it is lined with The Queen’s Head pub, Turtle Bay restaurant, new flats and other small shops, but it did. His offices and home were just around the corner too, a Business Gent and his family resided at number 5 Long Causeway (above the clothes shop and old Virgin shop), it’s no longer an upperclass home but now partial offices to Queensgate staff.
As the business expanded William partnered with John Wm Bower and the company changed to ‘Stanley & Bower’. However, after his & John’s death the company passed to his trustees: George Maple and John Warren. Stanley’s business manager Thomas and shop manager William then traded as ‘Amies & Barford’. After which investor Thomas Perkins became a partner and created a firm there called ‘Barford & Perkins’ making motor rollers, you know where this is going, don’t you! Yes! Thomas Perkins’s grandson then created ‘Frank Perkins’ making diesel engines. Voila. History right up to today! Without Williams Proctor Stanley there would have been no ‘Perkins Engines’!
A gift to Peterborough people
Back then in the 1800s we didn’t have a council but a group of gentlemen called the Peterborough Improvement Commissioners that ran much about the city regeneration. An article was published in the Peterborough Advertiser after Mrs Stanley announced her gift…
“Mrs. Stanley‘s munificent gift to the town of Peterborough of 4 acres of land for a public playground seems to be received by the improvement commissioners somewhat in the light of an unwelcome addition to their family. They are £800 richer by the new arrival, yet, dear me, says one, that it will want a cradle and clothes, with a servant to attend it, a third begins to coast the cost and ask where the money is to come from, and a fourth naughty father-in-law hints at a transfer of the little stranger with all its liabilities to the fees.
If we do not mistake, the town will receive the gift with more enthusiasm than the commissioners, and with fewer fears as to its turning upright in the end. Four acres are four acres, but if six would be better – and they would be so – and the land is to be had, why let us get it at once and make the thing complete.
Then the bare land will not make a play-ground worthy of the name, but it must be fitted up and someone must be paid to keep an eye on it and the conduct of those by whom it is used. As to transferring it to the Feoffees that is altogether out of the question and a truly barbarous idea, but if the Feoffees are as public spirited in this matter as they have been lately in others, they may and will help in the work of extending and completing the ground.
There is no objection to multiplying play-grounds even if we were certain of getting the land, for by doing so we multiply the cost of maintenance and superintendence. Mrs Stanley’s gift furnishes what we may call the gem of a convenient recreation ground and whether it is to be developed or not it is for the town to say.
The new act on public improvements, as we have been before remarked just comes in opportunity as a test. It is slightly ambiguous, as act of parliament generally are upon material point, that is whether the whole sum required for the purchase of land may be raised under it, but it is quite clear that half of the required expenditure may be so raised. There is room enough here then for finding the means of adding a couple of to the four already provided and for fitting the hole. All it wants to do it is the consent of two-thirds, in value, of the ratepayers to raise a small rate, which is in no case to exceed sixpence in the pound. Let the town then be at once asked whether it will rate itself for the purpose of a recreation ground or not. A rate is the most direct, certain and fairest way.
The money is there when wanted, can be reckoned upon, and comes from all alike, not from the few as in the case of a subscription. If the rate is refused, there will be an end to the matter and the four acres must take their chance, but if it should be granted, and two acres are added to the four, it will still be “Stanley‘s Recreation Ground”, and the inhabitants will be only the more indebted to Mrs Stanley for the gift, without which it is probable they would never have had a public playground.
It’s a bit long-winded I know (it took me a while to try to read all that and retype it too lol) and to think, the group wasn’t even sure about taking on this land as they had to upkeep it! The good thing though is that because it was Queen Victoria’s Jubilee in 1887 they added another 2 acres to it making it a lovely large area for public use. Parks and greenery were considered good for people’s mental health.
Peterborough Commissioners?
Who were these Commissioners, well you’ll definitely recognise some names here as we use them regularly around the city with roads, streets and even existing businesses: Read on… this was printed in the press.
“A special meeting of this body was held on Tuesday, the Rev Wm Strong, chairmain, presided and the following members were present: T. Life Esq., Dr Paley, Messrs Cattell, Bristow, G.F. Buckle, E. Vergette, W. Vergette, Ewart, Todd, Whitwell, Caster, and Sturton.
The Recreation Ground
The Chairman said he had written a letter to Mrs Stanley as he was commissioned to do, and if the Board thought it should be public property, he would read it. – Mr Whitwell thought it should be by all means made public, and the Chairman read it as follows: Thorpe Hall, July 31.
Dear Mrs Stanley, Mr SCW Buckle having this morning officially announced to the improvement commissioners your intended gift of four acres of land conveniently situated and with a suitable entrance to be used as a recreation ground by the inhabitants of Peterborough, the board unanimously instructed me to convey to you the grateful, sense of the munificence of the offer and their thankful acquiescence. In your proposal to constitute the improvement commissioners of Peterborough for the time being in the corporate capacity trustees of the property for the town. They hope also to obtain your permission to perpetuate the remembrance of this act of generosity, from feelings which do honour to the donor, by designating the site thus devoted to the promotion of sobriety, health, and happiness, especially amongst the working population of the city, by the appropriate title marks “The Stanley Recreation Ground”.
I beg to subscribe myself respectfully W. Strong, Chairman.
The board testified its approval of the terms of the letter.”
A fabulous idea indeed and did you read? A site devoted to the promotion of sobriety, health and happiness. It sounds wonderful in those words that we definitely would not use these days.
Bringing the old back to life
What I’d also like to point out is that a monument of a large marble water fountain was erected in Stanley Rec as a noted thank you and a reminder that it was a place given to the commissioners for the Peterborough people, but there was nothing of it remaining just a stump. The council has done a grand job of replicating the top part of it <<.
We have a few of those around the city for example: The Peterborough Library was GIVEN to the people of Peterborough by Andrew Carnegie. After the opening ceremony, Carnegie became the first person to be awarded the Freedom of Peterborough. How about that? However, it’s a shame that it’s no longer our beautiful library, as I recall taking in my 2p fine for not taking my book back on time! and is now converted into a restaurant and couldn’t have stayed at least as part of it, maybe the archive section? Anyway….
The revamp of the park by PCC looks good with its new children’s play area, cleaning up the toilet block with artwork to spruce it up, (obviously, no longer used as toilets – if you ever went in you’d be faced with a hole in the ground much to my horror as small child lol ) – a new gym area and of course some park entrance gateways. It all adds to make it a nicer, cleaner space. Maybe as people slowly moved out of the city centre over the years it had become a not nice place to even walk through, so at least now it look 100% better with park and recreation money well spent for it’s upkeep and revamp.
In 2022 the Council renamed it Stanley Park! Why the change? Well, the council believe that it makes it ‘sound’ better rather than Recreation Ground or Rec, as we all called it, and I suppose I have to agree with them – it does.
“We want to encourage a wide-range of groups to come along and enjoy the site, whether it be the mass bulb planting currently in full bloom (and the increased wildlife it brings) or the enhanced play area, new gym equipment or mini goals for football. We hope the name change and the recent artwork at the former toilet block will help persuade people who have not been before to pay the park a visit.” (PCC spokesperson)
However, there’s always a however or a but…..I strongly believe that it would have been nice to at least include, or advise, the Stanley family of that decision. I met with three descendants still living here (Louise, Mick & Rachael) to show them the new monument which has been placed at the entrance near the College, and had a chat about their previous relatives.
Most older Stanley family members have either moved away or passed away, but it was lovely to sit down and talk a bit of history that was connected to them, as well as give them some information they didn’t know. The Stanley Family were definitely workers and had a host of businesses around the city from the Ironworks, but also butchers and others. In 1845 William Proctor Stanley became one of the founding committee of the Peterborough and Nottingham Junction Railway. Some others moved to the USA travelling on the Queen Mary, some moved to Canada creating a Lumber Mill in Toronto, they opened the first supermarket which was opposite Westgate Church, and this lovely trio Louise was in hospitality the same as her mother and father, Rachael was in hair and beauty and Mick was a carpenter as well as working in the Royal Engineers Constabulary.
These, along with many others not mentioned, are a line of history from Peterborough and I believe it’s important not to forget our heritage of where we live. Mike, Louise and Rachael are direct descendants through the line of William, him being their Great, Great Granddad Stanley. They never knew him of course, but were told about him through their elders. (I’m still working on their family tree which will be added later)
The ironic story of this is…when I went to Queen Drive West infant school and All Saint’s Girls junior school, I was in the same class with Kay Stanley, with her sister Jill Stanley in a lower class. I never put two and two together back then that they were great, great, great, granddaughters of the infamous William Proctor Stanley!
There’s one more thing that I came across in my findings. It’s not just about the park…. did you know that the Stanley Ironworks put one of their creations into the Great Exhibition in 1851 for Queen Victoria & Prince Albert to view? The Great Exhibition was held in Hyde Park in London in the specially constructed Crystal Palace. There were some 100,000 objects entered which were displayed along more than 10 miles of aisles, by over 15,000 contributors. Britain, as host, occupied half the display space inside with exhibits from the home country and the Empire. Stanley Ironworks was honoured with a Great Exhibition Award for their ‘linseed and barley crusher’ machinery. How fabulous is that? No idea what it looks like, but what an amazing claim to fame that hardly any of us know about! (no photographs I’m afraid as it was before the time of photography, such a shame that we can’t see it, I’m sure it would have been one hell of a contraption sitting in that glass exhibition house in London and possibly Albert coming along and having a chat with them about it! Can you imagine? (photo copyright: https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/great-exhibition-1851-victoria-albert-what-crystal-palace/ )
This has been a fabulous touch of history which thankfully has been recorded by the PCC who, to go with the monument, are erecting an information board written by the Peterborough Local History Society and June & Vernon Bull.
