Albert Park
The Dorman Museum is located right next to Albert Park.
Covering 30 hectares of space, the park is an award-winning Green Flag space in the very centre of Middlesbrough.
The park is often used for large-scale events which incorporate the beautiful bandstand, avenue of trees, and wide-open urban space.
It’s the perfect place to walk the dog, meet friends, take the family, or just relax!
What to do
If you're looking for something a little more energetic, you can hire a tennis court or take a spin on the rollerskating rink during the spring and summer months the park also offers pedal boats on the boating lake. You can find out more about times and prices by following the link below.
Each week Albert Park also hosts a popular parkrun which offers a great opportunity to run the grounds of the park with likeminded people. Find out more and register on the parkrun website.
Albert Park also offers a free magical trail around Albert Park from Middlesbrough Mela. Featuring magical characters to meet along the way, the trail is ideal for children age 3-9 and their grown ups too. Fun for all the family, scan the QR code to take part*.
*In case you didn’t know, you can use the camera on your phone to take a picture of the QR code to open up the trails – no special app is required.
For more information on Albert Park including opening times please visit -
Albert Park | Middlesbrough Council
History
The town's first mayor and MP, Henry Bolckow, first proposed the idea of a public park for the residents of Middlesbrough, dubbed the 'People's Park' in its conception. Bolckow was particularly conscious of the need to provide a "green lung" to ease the plight of the burgeoning industrial population of a town which was granted its charter of incorporation in 1853.
In 1864, Bolckow bought land off Linthorpe Roadand presented it to Middlesbrough Borough Council for use as a public park. An agreement drawn up between Bolckow and the Council in 1865 specified that the park be called Albert Park and that £3,000 be spent on laying it out. Work commenced in 1865 to a design by William Barratt, using trees and shrubs from his nursery in Wakefield. The park was completed at a cost of £30,000
In 1868 the park was officially opened by Prince Arthur of Connaught and Stathearn, who was Queen Victoria’s seventh child and third son. It was the prince’s first public engagement and the park commemorates the name of his father, Albert, the Queen’s Consort, who died in 1861.
When Middlesbrough Football Club were formed in 1875 they played their first two years at Albert Park before later moving to an alternative site within the town.