Checkpoint 10
Victoria Arch
The photo, taken in 1913, shows Victoria Arch, viewed from inside Peel Park looking towards the Crescent.
Some facts relating to the photo
The Victoria Arch was built in 1859 to commemorate Queen Victoria's visits to Salford - in 1851, and again in 1857. On her first visit, in 1851, she was welcomed by more than 80,000 school children in Peel Park. The artist, George Hayes, made painting of the visit, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in Peel Park, in 1851. This painting can be seen in the Victorian Gallery at Salford Museum and Art Gallery. The Arch stood at the main entrance to the park from the Crescent. Its style was unusual and described at the time as ‘Byzantine’. It was designed by Thomas Groom Barker, an architect from Salford. The Arch was demolished in 1937 because it had become unsafe.