| Kings Heath Park | |
|---|---|
 A tree next to the house (left) | |
 | |
| Type | Park |
| Location | Birmingham,England |
| Coordinates | 52°25′57″N1°54′06″W / 52.4326°N 1.9018°W /52.4326; -1.9018 |
| Created | 1908 (1908) |
| Operated by | Birmingham City Council |
| Website | birmingham.gov.uk/kingsheathpark |
Kings Heath Park is aGreen Flag status[1]park in theKings Heath district ofBirmingham,England, which is managed byBirmingham City Council.[1]
For a time, the park was used as the setting for the popularATV programmeGardening Today.[2]
The park is centred on a house, built in 1832 for the newly elected MPWilliam Congreve Russell.[3] In 1880 the house was bought by John Cartland, a wealthy industrialist[3] and ancestor of the authorBarbara Cartland.[3] In 1902 the Cartland family formed the Priory Trust Co Ltd to own and manage the house and land with the intention of developing the area for housing.[3] These plans came to nothing, and on 9 November 1908 the Trust sold the house and half the surrounding land to theKings Norton and Northfield Urban District Council.[3] The council immediately opened the grounds as a public park.[3]
From 1909-1911 the house was used as a school.[3] In 1911, Kings Heath — and the park — was incorporated into the city of Birmingham. The Trust sold the remaining land to Birmingham Corporation on 10 February 1914, and this was immediately incorporated into the park.[3]
In 1953, the city council created a School of Horticultural Training in the house, using part of the park as training gardens.[3] Since 1995, this has been run, under a partnership arrangement, byPershore (later Warwickshire) College andBournville College.[3]
In 2008/9, Kings Heath Park was granted a Green Flag Award for the 7th year running.[4]
