Heavitree Pleasure Ground - includes Centenary update

In the Victorian and Edwardian eras, many local councils were creating new parks for people to spend their leisure time. Heavitree Urban District Council opened the Pleasure Ground in 1906, "to clear rowdy youths" from Fore Street in the evenings.

The Council purchased the land at the end of 1905, for £3,100 and, the first phase, a children's playground was opened on 1st May 1906 by Colonel Vaughan in front of 800 children, and as was common for the time, God Save the King was sung. In 1907, the bowling green and tennis courts were completed.

The area was enlarged in 1908, when the remaining hedges were removed and a field reserved for the Football Club. The Exeter nursery, Veitch's landscaped the grounds, and a ground-keeper employed for 24 shillings (£1.20) per week to maintain 11 acres of park.

By 1939, the Pleasure Ground had been extended to 19 acres, with three hard tennis courts and a 'children's nursery ground'.

On 5th May 2006, Cllr Morrish and the Lord Mayor of Exeter, Cllr Peter Wadham attended a celebration for the centenary of the opening of Heavitree Pleasure Park. Local children, dressed in Edwardian clothes, sang period songs and danced around a Maypole. They then followed an accordian player down to the entrance of the park to attend the unveiling of an obelisk remembering the event. The Lord Mayor then unveiled the obelisk and after, the children attended a tea party in the park.

New additions to the Pleasure Ground include a basketball court and picnic area.