Sunbeams Thomastown Park

Description

Thomastown Park was developed on an old quarry site and waste tips to the east of the town centre and was the first public park in Merthyr Tydfil. Although Merthyr Tydfil Urban District Council took possession of the freehold at the Thomastown Tips in 1898, they were forced to wait two years until pre-existing sub-lettings were completed before work could begin. The park was officially opened in 1903 at a cost of £5,000. Earlier plans for a park at Thomastown were set out by a local solicitor, Frank James, and promoted by his colleagues in the Merthyr Tydfil Chamber of Trade in the early 1880s. Estimates for the completion of this proposal totalled just £375. The unwillingness of the landowners to sell to the Chamber of Trade at that stage meant that no public park was provided in Merthyr until successful completion of the 1900 - 1903 local authority scheme. The site features playing fields, a bandstand, tennis courts, a children's playground, and a war memorial to the South African War.