History of Cridge Park
The Trees of Cridge Park seen behind The Church of Our Lord
Cridge Park was once the upper reaches of the Inner Harbour, before the Causeway was built and the mudflats filled in to make way for the Empress Hotel and the Crystal Garden.
Cridge Park was named after Bishop Cridge, who arrived in Victoria in 1855. He was Dean of the Cathedral, the founder of Victoria’s first hospital, orphanage, orchestra and a social reformer. In 1875, he oversaw the establishment and construction of the Church of Our Lord, now a National Historic Site.
The land next to the Church was established as “Cridge Park” in 1929.
National Historic Sites and Monuments Plaque
Cridge Park is made up of the green area beside the Church of Our Lord, with its high canopy of London plane trees, as well as the area leased by the Canadian Pacific Lawn Bowling Club, who have been maintaining their historic bowling green at their own expense for 78 years.
Cridge Park provides a suitable setting for the two significant historic buildings that overlook the Park: both the Church of Our Lord built in 1875 as well as the Crystal Garden built in 1925.
Cridge Park is a key component of Victoria’s “Necklace of Parks”, which stretches from Dallas Road, through Beacon Hill Park, and the grounds of St. Ann’s, to Cridge Park and Thunderbird Park, continuing through the grounds of the Royal BC Museum and the Empress Hotel to the “Welcome to Victoria” sign on the Inner Harbour.