Duke of Westminster presents city of Chester gift

The Duke of Westminster has presented the city of Chester with a framed, illustrated copy of an important historical document to mark the restoration of Grosvenor Park.

Lord Mayor Bob Rudd was at Chester Town Hall to receive a copy of the vellum given to Richard, 2nd Marquess of Westminster in the 19th century by the citizens of Chester, in thanks for his ‘princely and magnificent gift’ of 20 acres of farmland to create the park.

The Marquess donated the land on the banks of the River Dee to the citizens of Chester and hired architect Edward Kemp to design one of Europe’s first and finest public parks.

In 1867 it was opened by his lordship and the grateful public turned out in huge numbers to honour his gift to the city.

People from the borough of Chester purchased the original vellum which was presented to the Marquess in thanks for gifting the land that the park stands on.

The Duke of Westminster re-opened the city park in July 2014 after Cheshire West and Chester Council had restored the land to its former glory thanks to a £2.3 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Big Lottery Fund, more than £1 million from the council and £30,000 from WREN, the non-profit making company dedicated to environmental improvement.

A copy of the original, presented to Cllr Rudd, will hang in the Grosvenor Park Lodge.

The Duke said: “I was delighted to see the result of the time, trouble, effort and commitment from the local authority, Heritage Lottery Fund and many others to revitalise Grosvenor Park.

“It was a pleasure to be able to present the Lord Mayor with a copy of the vellum. I feel it is important to be able to share with visitors to the park just what a beautiful document it is.”

Cllr Rudd said: “It was an honour to receive such a special gift, and to invite His Grace to meet with a number of council officers who had worked on the Grosvenor Park project for the past 18 months.

“I think the illustrated copy should take pride of place in the Grosvenor Park Lodge where the residents and visitors to the park will see it.”