Stanley Park

Formerly the grounds to Lord Ashburton’s Bay House, Stanley Park was bought by Gosport Borough Council in 1948, together with Alver House.Entrances to Stanley Park are off Western Way and Gomer Lane and it can also be entered from the sea front off Stokes Bay Road at the west end of the Bay.  The access road from the Bay leads past the Alverbank Hotel to an open park area of grass and flower beds. One path leads to Gomer Lane via a woodland walk. This tranquil and serene area is Gosport’s largest formal park and was well known locally, in the past, for its splendid floral displays.  Located near to the Seafront, Stanley Park is extremely popular in the summer months where families come to picnic and spend time enjoying the sunshine. It has a walled garden, opened in 1971, named in honour of Alderman Charles Barnard Osborn who had been responsible for the design and layout of the Borough’s public gardens and the provision of flower beds at roadsides and street corners. Gosport Parks and Open Spaces Stanley Park.Stanley Park was part of the grounds owned by the first Lord Ashburton (Alexander Baring) who lived in Bay House. When his descendent Lt.-Col. Ronald Francis Assheton Sloane-Stanley J.P. (1867-1948), a close friend of the Prince of Wales (later to become Edward VII) offered to sell Bay House with 28 acres of land to Gosport Borough Council for £15,000, they accepted.

In 1946 the grounds, which also included the land belonging to Alverbank became known as Stanley Park which officially opened on 29 March 1947.


Stanley Park Information Board
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Forgive the spelling errors (Slone for Sloane).

The small Osborne Gardens has its own Information Board which has sadly suffered at the hands of vandals.
Osborne Garden Information Board

Osborne Gardens
Osborne Gardens