Parks and open spaces in Liverpool
Liverpool in England has a significant number of public parks and gardens. The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England describes the city's collection of Victorian parks as the "most important in the country". Liverpool has 10 listed parks and cemeteries, including two Grade I and five Grade II*, more than any other UK city except London. There are over of parks and open spaces in the city. For many centuries, much of the open space was private estate land. In particular, several of the city's grand houses of the Georgian and Victorian eras are now either demolished or in public ownership, with their grounds and gardens given over to the city. However, several parks which were conceived from the outset as public parks are partly modelled on the nearby Birkenhead Park, which was amongst the first of its type in the world. Historical background In 1833, the government's Select Committee on Public Walks emphasised the need to provide accessible space for recreation to improve the health of the urban population, defuse social tensions, and allow social classes to mix. From the early 1850s onwards, Liverpool endorsed this policy with the introduction of a ring