WATERLOO PARK. Mr. WILD moved the adoption of the recommendation of the City Committee that the land recently acquired by the Corporation for public pleasure grounds from the Great Hospital Trustees on Angel Road, St. Clement Without, be named “Waterloo Park". He said that the land in question was now in process of being prepared for the purpose for which it was intended. No distinctive name had yet been given it. Although it was not exactly next to Waterloo Road it was in that vicinity, and it was thought that the historic name of Waterloo would be acceptable to the citizens.

BYE LAWS FOR WATERLOO PARK 

Mr. W. H. HACKBLOCK brought up a report and recommendation from the Law and Parliamentary Committee with regard to certain bye-laws which are proposed for Waterloo Park. They were practically an exact copy of those in force in Chapel Field and Castle Gardens. 

Mr. WHITE thought the words "bring and impel" with reference to bicycles were too stringent, and he proposed that the bye-laws be referred back to the committee. 

This was seconded by Mr. T. DUNMORE, and agreed to.

NORWICH MUNICIPAL ENTERPRISE. 

NEW PARK FOR CATTON. EXPERIMENTAL MUNICIPAL HOUSES 

On Tuesday afternoon, in delightful weather, the opening ceremony in connection with Waterloo Park, Catton, and also with the block of municipal houses on Wild Road, close by, took place, and was favoured with a large attendance of members of the Corporation, the Playing Fields and Open Bpaces Society, and also of the general public. 

WATERLOO PARK. The latest addition to the open spaces of the city. is situated off Angel Road, lying between the Aylsham and Magdalen Roads. Fifty years ago the whole surrounding area was in the main under cultivation. Now, street after street of comparatively modern dwellings cover the district. Almost the entire population is of the working class, and many in the older quarters are of the poorest. In the midst of this area the Corporation obtained on large fine site for a public park. It embraces in all about 11 acres, and looks on its eastern boundary upon Angel Rond, on the opposite side of which thoroughfare lies that splendid pile of buildings, the Angel Road School. There daily some 850 children assemble. On the other side of the park lies the Philadelphia School, and at no very far remove are the St. Augustine's and the Ball Close Schools. On three sides it is surrounded by iiron pallisadings, while that running parallel with Angel Road, consists of a brick wall, on the park side of which are the fine gardens cultivated by the boys of Angel Road School. By far the greater part of the park consists of fine turf, but it is bordered by strip of ground containing evergreens and flowering shrubs. Ancient tree trunks, whose hollow tops are filled with tulips, also add to the beauty of the spot. There are the usual conveniences, and the park is altogether a most valuable addition to the civic assets of Norwich. On Tuesday the gravelled approach was bordered with Venetian masts and lines of streamers, with a fine East Anglian flag over the entrance.

THE ARTISAN DWELLINGS. Within a few yards of Waterloo Park, on the other side of Angel Road, runs a cul de sac, which has been named Wild Road, in compliment to the gentleman to whom is mainly due this experiment in working class housing. Hereupon are three blocks of two-storeyed dwellings, substantially built, and attractively designed. Wild Road is part of site which has boon leased from the Ecclesiastical Commissioner for 999 years, and which, if the present experiment so far succeeds as to warrant a still further building enterprise, will accommodate some 90 other blocks, each containing four flat tenements. The architectural design has to be credited to the City Engineer. Apart from the site the scheme involves cost of about £2,000. The building material is of local brick, with kiln bottom facings to the street. The chamber floor level is relieved with Costessy ware stringcourses, and thence upwards to the eaves the front outside walls are covered with tinted rough cast. Each of the three blocks contains on the ground floor two tenements, each consisting of living room, 13ft. by 10ft. 4fin., bedroom 10ft. 9in. by 10ft. 6in. with pantry, water closet, and joint scullery.

On the first floor are two tenements. One of these contains a living room, 13ft. by 10ft. 4 in., and two bedrooms, 10ft. 6in. by 9ft. 7in, and 10ft. 6in. by 7ft. 6in., together with pantry, coal place, water closet, and joint scullery. The other tenement contains a living room, 13ft. by 10ft. 4in., a bedroom 10ft. 9in, by 10ft. 6in., and two attics, 12lt. by 10ft. each, with pantry, coal place, and joint scullery. The living rooms, bedrooms, and attics are plastered and the walls distempered. Each room has a fireplace. The living rooms are fitted up with a self-contained cooking range and a small gas cooker, gas being laid on throughout. The scallories are each fitted with copper and large sink. The painting of the woodwork is in olive green. The floors are formed of breeze concrete, covered with a thin layer of pitch composition, and boarded. Access is provided both to the back and the front of the upper tenements, the back approach being substantial wooden outer staircase. At the rear is a fairly spacious drying ground for the use of the tenants in common. Facing Wild Road there are no forecourts, the fronts of the buildings being flush with the path way. The object studied has been to economise the available space to the utmost possible extent, with a view to keeping the rents down to a price which will compete with the cottage accommodation offered by private enterprise, and thus the forecourts have been treated a non-essentials which might well be sacrificed. For the two ground floor flats the rents are 2s. week each, for the three-roomed tenements (two bedrooms and one living room) 2s. 6d. a week each, and for the four-roomed tenements (three bedrooms and one living room) 3s. a week each. Here also on Tuesday, the Corporation employees had endeavoured to impart a festive air to the locality and flags floating in the breeze. 

THE OPENING CEREMONY. Among those present at the opening ceremony, which took place at half past 2 were the Mayor (Mr G F  Buxton), the Sheriff (Mr Leathes Prior), both wearing their chains of office, Messrs E Wild, Russell Colman, W H Dakin, S Wainwright, R Tidman, A J Young, C E Muriel, H A Day, F G Hatch, J Willement, F J Crotch, E Boardman, M Moore, J Mason, Fred Henderson, W T Scarles, Scarles, W E Scarlett, T S Breeze, R Murrell, RG Bagshaw, R F Ladell, F H Bassingthwaighte, James Clabburn, A M Stevens, D Wills, D Cutmore, John Lincoln, T Dunmore, W G Stevens, A G Howlett, J D Smith, W Shorten, and J E H Watson. The city officials present were the Deputy Town Clerk (Mr MacIlveen), the Medical Officer of Health (Dr Cooper-Pattin), the City Engineer (Mr A E Collins), the Chief-Constable (Mr E F Winch), tho City Accountant (Mr A F Gentry), the Com. mittee Clerk (Mr J J Kestineau), and the sword and mace-bearers. The Open Spaces Society was represented by Mesers P B Hansell, W E Hansell, F Hornor, A H L Taylor, L C Miller, and W T F Jarrold. There were also present in the gathering Mrs G Radford Pym, the lady who recently gave to the city a fine breathing space at the western end of the city; the Rev W S Wright, Vicar of the parish; Mr R G Willey, and Mr B Barber, the head-master of the Angel Road School, who was accompanied by a numerous contingent of the pupils. 

At three o'clock the Mayor, who was accompanied by the Sheriff, Mr. Edward Wild, and Mr. Russell Colman, ascended the platform. 

Mr. E. WILD said that among the problems relating to the health and general welfare of the inhabitants of the great towns, none took a more prominent place than those connected with the allied questions of breathing spaces and the better housing of the inhabitants. A notable feature in the proceedings was the fact that by a happy coincidence the Mayor, in the quincentenary of the Charter by which he held office, was called upon to inaugurate two separate efforts made by the Corporation to supply the wants of the two several branches of the social claims to which he had alluded. Serious consideration had been given to the proposal that where large areas of open ground were exploited for building, certain portions should, by corpulsory legislation, be reserved for open spaces. Fortunately for them they had hitherto not been compelled to look in this direction for relief, but in one way or other, where new building areas had been marked out, reservations had in several instances been secured by other and more favourable means. They had recently been cheered by the noble example of a lady - (hear, hear) whom it was no empty compliment to call good - enriching her native city by the sacrifice of a valuable portion of her patrimony for the welfare of those who needed it most, and they were grateful to the generous donor, and hoped that the good example might be largely followed. One leading cause of this immunity was the existence of an unobtrusive, but not less useful society, the Playing Fields and Open Spaces Association, whose modest, but nevertheless use ful work has exercised a powerful influence. This association, of which Mr. W. Hansell was the mainspring, had been instrumental in reclaiming and beautifying waste places, and by taking time by the forelock had prevented the incursion of the rapacious builder into places which had thus been secured as air spaces for the people for ever, and it was due to the inception of this associa tion that the present space had been secured. The estate of which this park formed a portion, was the property of the charity known as the Great Hospital, and when it was proposed to be developed as a building estate the association determined to make an effort to have a part reserved, and through one of its members negotiations were opened between the Corporation and the Charity Trustees for the acquisition of as large a slice as possible. Happily, sympathetic responses came from both these high contracting parties, and after the usual obstruction on the part of the Charity Commissioner - (laugh) easy terms were arranged for its acquisition. There negotiations were commenced in February, 1897, but the lease was not signed until April, 1899. He was glad to bear testimony to the sympathetic response on the part of the Great Hospital Trustees, and the assistance rendered by then in carrying out their design. When they remembered that these trustees had Sir P. Eade as chairman, and Sir C. Gilman as vice-chairman, and Mr Francis Hornor as steward and adviser, this generous help would cause no surprise. (Applause.) He need hardly say that in dealing with agricultural land a great deal had to be done to equip it for park. That large park was not intended, and was not fit for the present for what were generally known for sports, that was for set matches of football and cricket and so on. It was intended for the good of all the inhabitants of the city. It was intended especially for tbe recreation of the children (applause) and every possible arrangement would be made so that the children, at least, would have room and opportunity for carrying out their juvenile sports. As for the other section of that day's function, he would only way that the houses were modest and honest attempt to grapple with the most serious problem connected with the social life of the poor. They were erected simply as experimental or specimen dwellings, and in any larger scheme which might follow they would be able to rectify any mistakes which might bave boon made in this small venture. Their objective has been the housing of the very poor; to take them out of alum life with its tainted physical and moral surroundings, by offering them homes instead of dwelling healthy, moral, and physical environment in lieu of worn out dilapidated living and sleeping places with their questionable accompaniments; abundance of light and pure air in exchange for darkened rooms and foetid atmosphere. 

Mr. FRED HENDERSON said the scheme of artisans' dwellings, which the Mayor was present to inaugurate, owed its inception to Mr. Edward Wild's solicitude for the welfare of the poorer classes, and its realisation to his constant care in overy detail of the work that had been done. It was almost exactly four year ago that Mr. Wild, in a speech remarkable for its sympathetic insight into the housing problem, induced the Town Council to appoint a special committee to inquire into the practicability of applying the Housing Acts to Norwich. Alter deep consideration the committee laid down certain guiding principles along which at any rate the beginning of this enterprise should go. It considered that the most pressing need was better housing for the very poor, rather than for the artisan class. They felt that there was a certain supply of workmen's houses springing up in the suburbs - leaving aside the question whether such accommodation could not preferably be supplied under Municipal control - but that for the very poor, those who could only afford from two to three shillings a week, one had to seek in vain for accommodation except in the undesirable surroundings of the slum districts. The houses which had just been built in Wild Rond were the first beginning of achievement in that direction. The committee hoped that the public would not regard the experiment in any way a profit-making affair in the ordinary sense. The committee preferred its profit in life rather than in cash; and if it were true, who profoundly believed it to be, that the only real wealth was the happiness of human life, that was the best profit of all. (Hear, hear.) 

The MAYOR said the opening of Waterloo Park was a source of great satisfaction to him, for the provision of open spaces in Norwich he had always had very much at heart. ln a district where the houses had either very small gardens or none at all, an open space like this was an unquestionable blessing. As for the artisan dwellings, which it was also his duty to open, he was fully convinced that the Corporation in this matter had taken quite the right step. As Mr. Henderson had very properly said, the Corporation did not want to make money out of the new tenements. The city would got i quite sufficient remuneration if it promoted the health and happiness of the poorer citizens, and especially of the children of the poor. 

Mr. Wild thereupon presented the Mayor with a gold key, beautifully designed and manufactured by Messrs. Rossi, of the Market Place, Norwich. Before, however, his Worship opened the gates with it, the SHERIFY OF NORWICH proposed to him a vote of thanks. He said that thanks were also due to the Ecclesiastical Trustees, who had pursued a wise and excellent policy, and one which might even be justified from a sordid point of view - the duty of doing their best for the trust - for the existence of a lovely spot like this in the centre of the estate must enhance the value of the property around. 

Mr. A. G. HOWLETT having seconded the motion, the MAYOR briefly acknowledged it. He added that he should value the presentation key as a reminder of one of the happiest functions of his Mayoralty. 

The Mayor and members of the Corporation then inspected the park and gardens maintained by the scholars of the Angel Road Corporation School, the headmaster (Mr. Barber) being presented to the Mayor. Messrs. G. Blaxter and H. Pye were in charge of the gardening squad, and the beautiful display of tulips and other spring flowers was greatly admired by the visitors, whe subsequently inspected the artizans' dwellings.

THE NEW WATERLOO PARK. 

To the Editor 

Sir - I have spoken to several Cattonites on the subject, and they all agree with me that a gateway or footpath lending on to the Aylsham Road would be a great improvement, as the present and only gateway to a great distance from the Aylsham Road. - Your truly, 

CATTONITE. 

Norwich.