Public parks, walks and promenades

‘Liverpool is one of the richest corporations in Britain. No great town ever had a better situation for public parks, gardens and breathing places. We refer to Everton. It could have horticultural, botanical, and zoological gardens. An arc of land, from the sea on one side, to the Mersey on the other could be developed for public use. It can have a series of public gardens and promenades with distant prospects. Scarcely any other situation in the kingdom affords such a brilliant opportunity. Jane, Can you think of a better example?’ This is a quote from The Claudians: gardens, landscapes, reason and faith: John Claudius Loudon and Claudius Buchanan, Tom Turner (Kindle, 2024). 

More on J.C. Loudon’s Vision for Public Urban Green Spaces

Given his long interest in these topics it is surprising that Loudon says nothing about Report from the Select Committee on Public Walks: With the Minutes of Evidence Taken Before Them. Parliament. House of Commons. Select Committee on Public Walks Ordered, by the House of Commons, to be printed, 27 June, 1833. Possible explanations are (1) he was too busy with other matters to comment on the report (2) the committee did not invite him to give evidence (3) he had strong views on the matter and did not want to offend his readers or his clients by revealing them (4) he published his comments anonymously in the Westminster Review. With regard to Regent’s Park, the points made in this article are in line with those made by Loudon in the 1822 Encyclopedia of Gardening.

Westminster Review article on public parks, comments by Tom Turner

In 1834 the Westminster Review published, anonymously, a long of the 1833 Report from the Select Committee on Public Walks. Loudon might have been the author of the review but this is far from certain. The indications of Loudon being the author areas follows.

1. The political standpoint of the opening remarks is close to that of Loudon’s pamphlet on Reform.
2. Given Loudon’s great concern for public parks and public walks, it is noteworthy that he published nothing about the Select Committee Report in the Gardener’s Magazine
3. The author of the review displays an extensive knowledge of the subject. This being so, it is a surprise that, if it was not Loudon, his or her views do not appear elsewhere
4. Many of the comments on individual parks and opportunities can be found elsewhere in Loudon’s writing
5. Loudon seems to have adopted the policy of not letting his political views appear in publications aimed at potential clients
6. The literary style of the review has distinct similarities to Loudon’s style - though it also has a number distinctive phrases which one might have expected to find elsewhere in Loudon’s, and which I have not found.

Loudon’s Vision and the Evolution of Public Parks

John Claudius Loudon’s vision for public parks and promenades was ahead of its time, highlighting the potential of urban green spaces long before they became widespread. His admiration for Liverpool's potential for creating extensive public gardens and promenades reflects his broader philosophy on urban design. Despite his influential ideas, Loudon did not publicly address the 1833 Select Committee Report on Public Walks, which was a significant oversight given his interest in urban greenery. This omission might be attributed to his focus on other pressing matters or his desire to avoid controversial political stances in his public writings. Nonetheless, Loudon's indirect contributions, potentially through anonymous reviews or other channels, underscore his commitment to the improvement of public spaces. His advocacy for integrating botanical and zoological gardens into urban landscapes continues to resonate with modern urban planning and park design principles.