The Opening of the Park
Sewell Park was opened on the afternoon of Wednesday July 7th 1909, and formally dedicated to public uses. The weather was beautifully fine, and hundreds of people from the neighbourhood crowded around the entrance to the park.
The Eastern Daily Press described the park as “a triangular area, of which the apex comes down to the Whalebone Corner. It is flanked on two sides by St Clement’s Hill and the North Walsham Road respectively; and its base borders upon the Sewell estate, from which it is separated by a roadway, which has also been given by the Sewell family.”
At three o’clock the municipal body assembled at Christ Church schoolroom (now Christ Church Centre), and from there, headed by bearers of the civic insignia, walked in procession to the main entrance. The company consisted of the mayor (Walter Rye), the deputy-mayor, the ex-mayor (Edward Gurney Buxton), the sheriff and various civic officials and dignitaries. The vicar and churchwardens of Christ Church and representatives of the Norwich Playing Fields and Open Spaces Society were also in the procession. Awaiting the official visitors at the gate to the park were four of the surviving five of Philip’s children – Margaret, Edith, Ada and Edward. (Grace was unavoidably absent).
The ex-mayor briefly explained the circumstances of the occasion, and paid a warm tribute of regard to the memory of the Philip Sewell. He mentioned in particular “the Buxton Industrial School, where Philip spent so much of his time and money. For thirty years, two or three times a week, wet or fine, did he drive that eighteen miles journey to Buxton.” He described how Philip assisted in the construction of the London and Brighton railway, and added that the bulk of his engineering work had been done in Spain between 1852 and 1864. He said he felt assured that Sewell Park would remain a source of pleasure to both old and young.
Edward Sewell thanked Mr Buxton for this kind reference to his late father, and for the contribution he had made to the gift of that afternoon. It was now his duty to hand the deeds over to the mayor, and he had great pleasure in doing so, for his father always got the keenest enjoyment from outdoor pleasures, and desired that others should have an opportunity of doing the same.
Margaret Sewell declared the park open and, with a gold key that was presented to her as a memento of the occasion, unlocked the gate. Prayer was offered by the vicar of New Catton, who dedicated the park to the glory of God and the benefit of the people.
The mayor acknowledged the gift on behalf of the aldermen and citizens. He said that Norwich had its fair share of open spaces, but what it chiefly wanted were places like this “for the benefit of small children and for rough boys to play about and yell in to their hearts’ content, and so ease the ears of people who, like myself, are supposed to live in quiet streets.”
The procession was then reformed and walked round the ground to the terrace, where a halt was made, while Edward Wild said that the city committee, of which he was chairman, would accept the responsibility of taking care of that piece of land at Catton, and would not have the smallest hesitation in promising that everything should be done to carry out the objects and expectations of the donors. He said that, thanks to the skills of the city engineer, the beauties of the place were apparent. He added that Philip Sewell reminded him of one of his heroes, Charles Kingsley, and sometimes he fancied he could trace even a physical resemblance. Not very long since he had occasion to speak on a certain phase of education, and he received from Mr Sewell one of those charming letters which that gentleman so well knew how to write, and with it a book containing a copy of a poem cognate to the subject of the speech, written by his gifted mother.
The band of the 1st East Anglian Brigade Royal Field Artillery played the National Anthem and this concluded the formal proceedings. The band continued to play for another hour, and during that time and afterwards the ground was visited by a large number of people.
