About the park
Wallace Park is named after Sir Richard Wallace, who gave the land to the people of Lisburn in 1884. The park is about 26 acres and still keeps much of its original Victorian layout — the long avenues, the pond and the green much as they were laid out.
Sir Richard Wallace is best remembered today for the Wallace Collection, the art collection he built up that is now a national museum in London. He was closely tied to this part of Ulster, and his name is on more than the park — the ornate cast-iron drinking fountain in the grounds is one of the "Wallace fountains" associated with him.
The pond is older than the park itself. It is said to have begun as the town's reservoir, holding water for Lisburn long before it became a place to watch the ducks. The pond, the Victorian bandstand and the tennis courts were among the features restored during works in 2012, so the park you walk today mixes its Victorian bones with a refreshed set of facilities. The Lisburn Cricket Club ground within the park is often said to predate the park around it.