Ward Jackson Park
municipal park in Hartlepool, County Durham, England, UK
Ward Jackson Park is a municipal park located in Hartlepool, England. It is named after Ralph Ward Jackson, a local industrialist, who founded West Hartlepool in the 19th century. In later life, Ward Jackson encountered financial difficulties and a fund was established to help him out in his old age. In view of his sudden death, the money collected was used to create a public park. It is Grade II listed in Historic England's Register of Parks and Gardens.
History
The park was established in 1883 in memory of the founder of West Hartlepool, Ralph Ward Jackson (1806–1880). The land for the park was purchased by a Mr Wooler of Sandberge Hall near Darlington. The 17-acre (6.9 ha) site was purchased by public subscription, two acres (0.81 ha) being donated by Wooler himself. The lodge house dates from 1883, the bandstand and the fountain from 1901 and the clock tower at the Grange Road entrance from 1923.
The park lies on a gently undulating site which had been agricultural land known as Old Cow Pasture belong to Tunstall Hall which lies to the south-west.
“Ward Jackson Park” enters the record as municipal park in Hartlepool, County Durham, England, UK. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Ward, Jackson and Park can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Ward Jackson Park” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Ward, Jackson and Park provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7969031. Authority coordinates are 54.685, -1.241. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1883, 1806, 1880 and 1901.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
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- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Ward Jackson Park”, its source revision and the description used here.
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- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Ward Jackson Park” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.