THE official opening of Thompson Park took place on July 16, 1930 and a host of VIPs were there. They included Arthur Race, who had designed the park, and the Mayor Henry Nuttall, the person who officially opened the park. It had, though, already been open to the public since May 1930.

The park was created with money bequeathed to Burnley Corporation by James Witham Thompson. He died in 1920 at the age of 77.

His death occurred after he was run over by a motorbike when he attempted to cross the road at the bottom of Westgate.

James Witham Thompson was a cotton manufacturer. He ran Trafalgar Mill in Trafalgar Street. He lived at Oak Bank in Todmorden Road.

The Thompson Recreation Centre in Burnley is named after his nephew, William Thompson.

Much of the site of Thompson Park was formerly farmland of Lower Ridge Farm. This farm was in existence until 1906.

Park Shed was built to replace Lower Ridge Farm. Park Shed is a former cotton mill and stands in Leyland Road.

The Italian Garden in Thompson Park was created in what was formerly called Bank Hall Meadow. Bank Hall was the home of General Sir James Yorke Scarlett. In the Crimean War he led the successful Charge of the Heavy Brigade at Balaclava. General Scarlett died in 1871. Bank Hall was demolished in 1993 after a long and fascinating history.

Bank Hall Meadow became part of Thompson Park in 1930 when the park opened. The Italian Garden originally featured a small pond that contained goldfish. In the Second World War onions were grown in the Italian Garden.

The conservatory was a feature of Thompson Park until 1975. It stood in the park near Ormerod Road. In October 1940, during the Second World War, a German bomb fell in the park close to the conservatory. The bomb damaged the conservatory, some of the houses in Ormerod Road and the College in Ormerod Road.

In April 1963, a pond and a waterfall became new features of the conservatory. The pond contained goldfish that were transferred from the pond in the Italian Garden. The Thompson Park Conservatory was demolished in 1975, despite protests.

In September 1931, the monument to Sir James Mackenzie was unveiled in a ceremony. The monument overlooks the Rose Garden.

Sir James Mackenzie was a doctor who achieved fame due to his researches into diseases of the heart. His house was in Bank Parade.

He lived there from 1879 until 1907. His time in this house is commemorated by a plaque on the wall. The plaque there was unveiled on the same day that the monument in Thompson Park was unveiled.

Mackenzie died in 1925. There is a bronze bust of Sir James Mackenzie's head in a niche in the monument at Thompson Park. The bust was created by the sculptor L R Roslyn.

The playground at Thompson Park was opened in 1932. The paddling pool has been there since the park opened in 1930.

The boating lake replaced a field and trees in 1930. Many other trees were chopped down when the park was being made. Also various allotments were dismantled. The Park Ranger's office was a very popular cafe and ice-cream shop from 1930 until about 1973, Anthony Cece and his wife Evelyn had the cafe from 1931 until 1961. Anthony Cece was one of Burnley's leading ice-cream makers. His main rival was Charley Tognarelli.

In September 1946, a storm led to the boating lake and the river in the park both overflowing. Water from the lake and the river swept through the entrance to the park at Shorey Bank and went over the wall of the bridge on Shorey Bank into the river below.

Near Thompson Park is the site of Bank Hall coal pit. This pit was in operation from 1869 until 1971. From the playground at Thompson Park it was possible to see a little steam engine pulling coal wagons along the mineral railway line. The site of this railway line is now a footpath. The site of Bank Hall coal pit is now grassland and has been since 1975.