accommodation for the showmen who came here annually, in a field now Manor Road, where a fair was held some years till it gradually ceased. Mr. Wyatt died about 50 years ago, and his widow and children resided there for some years after. At the death of Mrs. Wyatt they removed from the town, and the residence stood until it became almost a ruin. The old house was sold by auction some time ago and was acquired by a local builder, who demolished it, and the ground is now covered by modern houses. It contained some
costly sculptured marble fireplaces, and other fittings, which were dispersed by auction about 20 years ago, and realized upwards of £800, the marble mantel pieces going to America. Its site is now occupied by the residence of Dr. Carnock Smith and adjacent houses.
The beautiful Alexandra Park was created by a celebrated Scotch landscape gardener, who absorbed the Newgate and Shornden Woods, adapting them to the formation of pleasure grounds. The original and small portion near the Queen's Road entrance was known as Shirley's Pond, and when first opened to the public, was called St. Andrew's Gardens. They were extended to Buckshole and a path carried through Shornden Wood out to Bohemia. On June 26th, 1882, Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales opened the extension during the Mayoralty of the late Mr. W. F. Revill. Its lovely woodland dells, flower beds, lawns, lakes, and the stream running through all, have now made it one of the loveliest Parks on the South Coast, containing an area of about 77 acres. The Royal visits were commemorated by planting two trees marked by tablets.
