Recreation Ground - P/B | OS Grid Ref: 415575,465475 | Site classified as: Park: Public | HPG Ref: 60237
Map Evidence
1854 OS 25inch
Nothing shown
1907 OS 25inch
Shown as open space marked recreation ground with field boundary across the area
Extract from Site Visit report
Site Access: Public footpath
Parking: Car parks in Pateley Bridge
Visibility: Good
Clearly visible Whole site visible from public roads and public footpath
North boundary: Caravan park
South boundary: Wall between site and B6265
East boundary: River Nidd
West boundary: Stone wall to road to Ramsgill
Buildings: Toilets, youth shelter, bowls pavilion, bandstand, war memorial
Walkways / Gateways / Paths etc: Various paths and 2 wrought iron gates
Water features: Former paddling pool, now removed
Other man-made features: Bowling green, basket ball pitch, football pitch, fenced play area, benches for sitting
Planting: Trees and small flower beds by war memorial
General Condition: Well maintained
Recorder: BN
Date: 02/03/09
Further Information
The Recreation Ground replaced an earlier one on Howle Craggs above St Mary's Church. This had been granted to the town by the Enclosure Commissioners in 1865.
This new Recreation Ground formed part of a gift by Thomas Yorke for a new recreational facility (Sparrow Park) to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
Thomas Yorke gave a further two acres in 1911 to celebrate the coronation of King George V.
The Bowling Green was completed in 1915, followed by the laying out of walks and the construction of the tennis courts.
The Pavilion, designed by George Bland of Bland & Bown was completed in 1923.
The War Memorial, unveiled in 1925, was a gift from the trustees of the Mountgarrett Estate. It is formed from a single boulder from Brandstone Scar above Bewerley.
Public toilets designed by George Bland were opened in 1926.
On the Coronation Day of King George VI (12th May 1937), 20 trees were planted in the Recreation Ground by local school children on what was a described a particularly wet and windy day with 'widespread destruction of bunting'.
In 1947 in recognition of the hospitality shown to the child evacuees from Hull during WWII, the Board of Management of the Port of Hull Sailors Society Orphan Homes gave a 40 foot 'Sliding Chute' to the the town.
Additional funds were raised locally to provide further equipment, including a 'Joy Wheel', a 'Plank Swing' and a 'Rocking Horse'. (The rocking horse is now outside the Nidderdale Museum.) The paddling pool and a drinking fountain were added in the same year.
A more extensive history of the site is given in the following publication.
Sparrow Park & the Recreation Ground Pateley Bridge, 2015, Author Sheila Wilkins.
Copies are available from Nidderdale Plus, King Street, Pateley Bridge.
Sites linked to this one
The adjacent Sparrow Park was developed following the gift of land by Thomas Yorke (see above).
Picture dated March 2009.
Picture dated March 2009.
Picture dated March 2009.
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