BULLRING
The Bullring is the ring of lime trees in the northen part of the park, close to the pond area. Some people have referred to it as the 'Boar Ring' probably because of the statue of a hunter and dog attacking a wild boar that once sttod at the centre of the ring. However, the name Bullring appears on early Ordnance Survey maps long before the public park existed.
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The picture below shows the statue at the centre of the Bullring around 1923/24 when the land was sold by James Manfield to Major Arthur Ray. At that time, the ring had 26 lime trees. Today there are many fewer.
The Bullring is, however, much older than the Weston Favell Eastate. It is shown on Victorian Ordnance Survey maps and even appears on a 1798 map of the Abington Estate (below). On the 18th Century map, the ring is shown at the intersection of avenues of trees. Did these avenues exist, or were they just part of a plan for the estate? If you have any knowledge about this, please contact the FoEP.
Why was the Bullring formed? There has been speculation that it was once used for bull-baiting, an illegal activity from 1835. There seems no particular evidence to support this view but there is clear evidence that it was used for bare-knuckled boxing. This was also illegal but it could explain why the ring wes so far from Abington Manor. The 'sport' was often supported by rich and powerful men but they didn't want the activity too close to home!
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An article about bare-knuckled boxing in the Eastfield Park Bullring was written by the FoEP Chair for Northampton Magazines (https://northamptonmagazines.com/) in 2017. The text can be read by clicking or tapping this link:​​​