Buile Hill Park Buile Hill. After the end of the war, and an amount of refurbishment, the park reopened to the public in 1948. In 1963, a garden for the blind opened, and in 1972 Pets Corner. People noted to have visited the park include Pendlebury artist L.S. Lowry, a local rent collector, and author Frances Hodgson Burnett who wrote her classic children's novel "The Secret Garden" during one of her many visits to the estate house. In 1975 the Lancashire Museum of Mining opened in the house, closed in 2000, after which the house was proposed to be renovated as a conference
Frances Hodgson Burnett 1852 the family moved about a mile further along York Street to a more spacious home in a newly built terrace, opposite St Luke's Church, with greater access to outdoor space. Barely a year later, with his wife pregnant for a fifth time, Hodgson died suddenly of a stroke, leaving the family without an income. Frances was cared for by her grandmother while her mother took over running the family business. From her grandmother, who bought her books, Frances learned to love reading, in particular her first book, "The Flower Book", which had coloured illustrations and poems. Because of their