SAINT AUDEON’S PUBLIC PARK – A QUICK VISIT ON A SUNNY DAY
It is St Audoen’s Church but the associated park is St Audeons Park and I cannot offer any explanation why there is a difference in spelling.
I have a friend that could be described as a typical begrudging “Dub” and unfortunately anything undertaken by the Government or the City Council is a disaster or a waste of money as far as he is concerned.
When we first visited this park he described it as “sterile”, “lacking any cultural merit” and only ‘for the benefit of American tourists”.
At one level I might agree with some of his his comments but as I live in the area I believe that a managed and maintained public space is much better than an abandoned derelict site. I like the park but it is possible that the designers tried too hard to make it relevant.
Today, my friend ended up having a dispute with a group of “Dubs” in the park over the wearing of masks … I am not sure who won.
St. Audoen’s Park, although less than 0.5 hectares in size, is quite significant in historical terms. Located adjacent to St. Audeons’s Church (1300 A.D.), it incorporates the first stone city wall dating from about 1100 A.D.; St. Audoen’s Arch, the last surviving entrance to the old city; and Fagan’s Gate.
The City Wall was restored in 1976 as part of Architectural Heritage Year and the park development of 1982 won a prestigious civic award. Audoen was a 7th – century Bishop of Rouen (France) and the nearby church named after him is reputedly one of the oldest still used for regular religious services.
