Pennington Hall Park

Park

Explorer Tom

In Leigh’s Pennington Hall Park, Tom has located a hall with one small problem: it vanished in 1963. Never mind; the former grounds still have a bandstand, bowling greens and play areas, so he can conduct an imaginary orchestra before anyone has the chance to correct him. The Pennington family owned a hall here by the thirteenth century. Local brewer George Shaw and Company presented the estate to Leigh Corporation in 1920, with a floral opening that August. The hall became a museum and art gallery, while work to turn its gardens into public grounds formed part of an unemployment relief scheme. Tom is certain the opening flowers were arranged for his arrival, despite the slight difficulty that he arrived a century late. Dry rot brought down the last hall in 1963, but the park remained a place for Leigh to gather. The council lists tennis courts, bowling greens, a bandstand and play areas, with events through the year, including a September Proms gathering. Community Spaces helps run a cafe and the Grow Your Mind wellbeing garden. There is plenty here for a gentle circuit, a game or an extended debate over whether Tom should be allowed near a conductor’s baton. Find the park off St Helens Road, Leigh, and use the visitor car park from Pennington Avenue. This is the public park on the former hall grounds, not the nearby Pennington Flash Country Park; the missing hall is not an open museum. Check the council’s current page for events and facilities before going. Take a walk, find the bandstand, and let Tom perform a grand finale that even the absent hall can probably hear.