Council Terrier
Taken from a letter received after a request to Bradford Council’s Legal Services, about who leases what from whom and for how long, in Ilkley. Also, the Legal definition of other areas in Ilkley.
St. Margaret’s Park
Between Queens Road and Parish Ghyll Road.
This is described in the Council’s Terrier as a Public Park. It was part of the Middleton Estates that were purchased by the Local Board for Health for the District of Ilkley on the 29th June 1893 and thus the freehold is now vested in the Council as successor to the Board.
Mill Ghyll between Wells Walk and Wells Promenade
This is held on a Lease dated the 1st June 1873 made between William Middleton and the Local Board for the district of Ilkley. The term of the Lease is for 999 years. The rent is one shilling per annum, if demanded, and the use of the land is restricted to that of ornamental woodland and shrubbery’s. It is described on the Council’s Terrier as Public Gardens.
The person with whom I was dealing, checked with Bradford Council’s Finance section and no demands for rent have been made thus it is difficult to ascertain the identity of the freeholder. They pointed out, it may be the Middleton estate is still in existence and only local enquiry would ascertain if that was the case, or if another party is the successor to the late William Middleton. This so far, has drawn a blank. The surveyors who acted on the auction sale on the 26th September 1917 of what was the residuum of the Middleton Estate were Empsall & Clarkson then of 7, Exchange, Bradford.
The area so leased, extends from The Grove, through Corn Mill Gill (as it states on a copy of the Deeds), taking in two small areas of grass at the Southern end of the Gill and the wooded stream to the South side of Queens Road.
Canker Well Gardens The Grove
No reference to the above could be found in any deeds relating to the Middleton Family or Ilkley Local Board, of the Canker Well Gardens as they stand. However, it is suggested they may be included with that of Mill Ghyll?”
Perhaps someone could come up with the required documentation, Bradford being unable to do so. They might also have the answer to why the latter cannot? Please send your answers to our e address and include a return email address. Thank you.
Thursday, 19 August 2010
A VISION FOR THE FUTURE
DARWIN GARDENS A PRE-HISTORY
Frazer Irwin
Creator of Project Darwin
Frazer Irwin
Creator of Project Darwin
WHEN A YOUNG CHAP said he didn’t know who Charles Darwin was it prompted me to write the following pages. I have been asked numerous times about the pre-history of ILKLEY’S MILLENNIUM GREEN - DARWIN GARDENS. The Project is now part of the community and has long been out of my hands. However history must not be allowed to become distorted through lack of the full facts.
BACK IN THE MISTS of time, at least that is how it seems today, I would cycle from my home in Eden Park, Kent to the village of Down just south of Bromley. Little realising in future years the once owner of this house would again inspire me. I remember a tidy yet somewhat overgrown garden. A long sandy path and a house full, when allowed entry, of scientific equipment.
AT LEAST AS A CHILD it seemed that way. Memories of DOWN HOUSE and the family who once occupied that delightful corner was to stay with me for many years. As too other places often passed through or investigated as the case may be. THE GARDENS of ADDINGTON PARK nr Croydon and ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS at KEW being two.
SOME YEARS LATER after leaving school and joining SHIPLEY PARKS DEPARTMENT the world of plants again opened upto me. It wasn’t long before day release and night school beckoned and a glimmer of the past revealed itself once more. How strange to talk about someone you never knew, who nevertheless touched your life enough to inspire you to greater things. Darwinians will have realised who the occupant of DOWN HOUSE was and why a budding horticulturist held him in such esteem. I will not bore you with the intervening years, but after the parks department came college.
IT WAS KNOWN in those days as the YORKSHIRE (WR) INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURE. The educational seed bed for some of this country’s foremost horticulturists. In the late sixties it became ASKHAM BRYAN COLLEGE. About the same time College windbreaks were being thinned and trees removed re-used in a tree planting project. It involved local people and organisations, schools, colleges, Universities and other training bodies. Churches and religious groups, farmers and Landowners, businesses large and small, not forgetting the College. One family joked how they now had a ‘living family tree’. This humorous incident was to inspire part of a future project.
THE EARLY SEVENTIES saw a move to Ilkley as a member of the grounds staff at Ilkley College of Education. A fine building from the mid 19th century, originally built as the ILKLEY WELLS HOUSE HYDROPATHIC ESTABLISHMENT and designed by CUTHBERT BRODRICK of HULL, architect for LEEDS TOWN HALL, it’s CORN EXCHANGE and the SPA HOTEL, SCARBOROUGH. Part of my work at ILKLEY COLLEGE entailed looking after the grounds around a nearby building, known then as today as HILLSIDE. They too would feature in the same project.
ONWARD NOW to the eighties and a change of scene, well nearly. Writing and historical research bgan to take over from horticulture, though by all means not all. Two friends retired (?) and went to live in a cottage on Ilkley Moor. A cottage with two stone baths and a history which spans centuries. A group of buildings for which I have a great attachment and the ‘Foundation Stone’ of Ilkley as we see the town today, Ilkley Spaw Baths - White Wells. Still unaware seeds planted in 1959 were becoming restless to grow and the project coming ever closer!
THERE HAD BEEN TALK for some time, nearly thirty years if people in the know were honest, of Ilkley College closing. It soon struck me how important WELLS HOUSE and HILLSIDE were to the scientific community for a start. So began* a long single-handed struggle, to inform the rest of the world what could and would be lost, if the college closed.
PROJECT DARWIN HAD SURFACED!
I HAVE TO SAY HERE, while interest was shown by the rest of the world, the local community were more interested in saving their precious Green Belt, from development. The college closed and the Green Belt left untouched. But I digress. (1994*).
THE MAIN REASON no-one would touch the buildings was finance, one does wonder however when an American couple gave $14MILLION to their child’s school for a new science lab. WEST VIEW PARK beside WELLS HOUSE was becoming more overgrown than usual. The path to the moors passable only with a native guide and machete. While a stream where Kingfishers once flew resembled an Amazon backwater. Bridges fell apart, culverts became blocked, fallen trees left in situ and the whole would have succumbed to total dereliction, but for the determination of a stubborn Yorkshireman.
WHILE BATTLING WITH them over t’ill as I call Bradford Council to re-open the footpath, mend bridges and make the whole more presentable, Ilkley Parish Council asked residents for ideas for millennium projects. Being parks trained I could see the possibilities of transforming West View Park from a derelict wilderness to a community project the town would be proud of.
What started as Project Darwin in 1994 now became
Darwin Gardens A Vision for The Future
Darwin Gardens A Vision for The Future
DARWIN GARDENS for those who don’t know the area are situated at the top of Wells Road on the edge of Ilkley Moor. Ex-pats and older visitors would remember the area as West View Park with it’s Bandstand. Laid out around 1904 as Ilkley’s premier park it drew hundreds to the town and Ilkley Moor for fresh air and music. On the western boundary WELLS HOUSE, on the east HILLSIDE and on the moor above WHITE WELLS. All three buildings were used by Charles Darwin while staying in Ilkley between OCTOBER and DECEMBER of 1859. A very significant year to Darwin if not the whole world.
In the early years many residents said the idea was ‘pie-in-the-sky’ and Bradford Council wouldn’t wear it. Others didn’t want to know unless the name West View Park remained. In order to prove the local populace wrong I undertook a survey in town, asking around fifty people of all ages where West View Park was. All but three had never heard of it. The three who had only knew it existed from a recent (at the time) article in a local paper. Surprisingly one of the latter had lived opposite the park for quite some years.
Using the InterNet I sent out perhaps two dozen emails world-wide asking for interested parties to contact me in the refurbishment of West View Park for the Millennium. I also sent a similar number under the name of Darwin Gardens. The former were ignored while the latter brought dozens of interested replies. Proving Darwin Gardens was definitely a ‘product’ which would sell.
My first thought was for work to be done by the unemployed. The government were promoting ‘Project Work' and while certain objectives on the face of it may sound good in Westminster, the reality coupled with job satisfaction could in certain circumstances or communities, be found wanting. Especially rural communities.
For a project to succeed it must appeal to all groups especially the young. It is they who will carry it forward and must be included at all stages of the project’s construction. The concept behind Darwin Gardens encompassed history, art, sculpture, geography, the sciences, religion, countryside and much more. Irrespective of race or religion residents/visitors will find something at Darwin Gardens all can relate to.
Ideally placed at the edge of Ilkley Moor, made famous by that infernal song, Darwin Gardens are within easy reach of the populace. Having it’s own car park and being on a bus route makes access even easier. For those wishing to extend their visit nearby Rombalds Hotel is directly opposite the gardens.
Wells House, the former Hydropathic Establishment where Darwin stayed for the first part of his visit, is under going extensive refurbishment as part of an exclusive housing development. While NORTH VIEW HOUSE/WELLS TERRACE where he moved when joined by his family has also undergone refurbishment being re-named HILLSIDE COURT.
Wells House, the former Hydropathic Establishment where Darwin stayed for the first part of his visit, is under going extensive refurbishment as part of an exclusive housing development. While NORTH VIEW HOUSE/WELLS TERRACE where he moved when joined by his family has also undergone refurbishment being re-named HILLSIDE COURT.
DURING THE TIME HILLSIDE was ST WINIFREDS MATERNITY HOME another famous plantsman - Alan Titchmarsh first took air beside Ilkley Moor and what would become Darwin Gardens, thus continuing Ilkley’s unique botanical theme. WHITE WELLS for their part look down from Ilkley Moor as they have done for near three hundred years. While donkeys no longer carry visitors up-hill one can relax in their tea room after your walk and is still possible to plunge into those icy waters which many did in 1859.
IN 1997 Ilkley Parish Council asked residents for ideas/projects to celebrate the millennium, on Tuesday 24th June of the same year a working group was formed to further discuss eleven projects submitted, one being Darwin Gardens. Enthusiasm was somewhat lacking from many quarters and a deal of frustration felt by others. Frustration at no-one wanting to accept responsibility or seemingly so, plus ideas which may have served the 19th Century but not the 21st.
BY JULY 1998 and with little firm backing or interest from the Parish Council or town I was again frustrated and desperate to find someone with marketing experience. It was at this point Dr Peter Hornet agreed to take on the Project and I passed NINETY FIVE PER CENT of my original plans for Darwin Gardens over to him. Retaining five per cent for myself for a future date. THE DARWIN GARDENS TRUST was formed and while Dr Hornet, Trust members and the 'Darwin Gardens Army' publicised the project locally I continued via mobile phones, BBC Local Radio and the InterNet to inform the world of Darwin Gardens unique place in history.
AFTER DR JOHN HAIG designed the MILLENNIUM MAZE I realised people born at the former ST WINIFREDS MATERNITY HOME may possibly be interested in buying a stone or tree. Once again the media and InterNet were brought into play and ex-pats soon contacted the Trust. A network of interested parties spread across the globe, many of whom still keep contact with me.
LOOKING FORWARD TO the official opening it was clear we needed a ‘NAME’ to do the honours and who better than an old friend, former resident and internationally acclaimed author, Jilly Cooper. About this time I wrote to HRH The Prince of Wales for advice, both replied. Although Jilly would be in the middle of promoting her latest book, Score, she re-arranged her diary for 2000 to be in Ilkley on the 24th June.
TODAY IS TOMORROW’S YESTERDAY
The above is a warning to anyone who undertakes projects for the good of their community. Like the Head Gardener who often takes all the credit, the person to come up with the initial ideas, who does the early ground work, research and cold selling is forgotten by those who follow.
Who will Ilkley remember for inspiring
Darwin Gardens?
Darwin Gardens?
DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES completely beyond my control I no longer have input into the project. I do nevertheless take a great interest in areas which further Darwin’s philosophy, also the small white buildings which he visited during his stay - WHITE WELLS. But for White Wells there may never have been a Spa town of world re-known for Darwin to visit, nor for that matter the many others who came to take the waters.
THE CONTINUED SUCCESS of the project depends largely on input by the local community, especially our younger members. For it is they who will bring their children and grandchildren long after we are pushing up the daisies.
IF YOU HAVE associations with Ilkley as visitors, former residents or staff/students at Ilkley College of Housecraft/Education, The Deaconess College on Queens Road, St Winifreds Maternity Home or one of the many schools in the area we would like to hear from you.
DARWIN GARDENS MILLENNIUM GREEN
is free and open to everyone.
is free and open to everyone.
A local naturalist informs me CDF and I have more in common than first thought. The person in question sent the following,
The Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands (CDF) was established in 1959 as an international non-profit making research organization to provide assistance through scientific research and complementary action to ensure the conservation of the environment and biodiversity in the Galapagos Archipilago.
The Foundation operates the Charles Darwin Research Station in Galapagos.
1959 – A hundred years since On the Origin of Spieces by Natural Selection was published, the year I found Down House in Kent and the Sowing of Seeds which eventually became Darwin Gardens Millennium Green.
Already an International project by 1997, the above and 95% of the plans for Darwin Gardens were passed over to Dr Peter Hornett to take the project further. It has become a highly acclaimed award winning Millennium Green and brings a great deal of interest to the town of Ilkley from the world at large.
Thank you for your continued support.
AD 2009
150 years since publication of Origin.
200 year centenary of Darwin’s birth.
For those of you with Google Earth or Google Maps type in Wells Rd LS29 and you will soon find the Millennium Maze then the rest of the Millennium Green.
Early days of Project Darwin - Ilkley
This will give you an idea of how things looked before undergrowth was cleared.
Monday, 2 August 2010
Views of Darwin Gardens Millennium Maze - Ilkley - West Yokshire
View across the Millennium Maze
The Maze Cross
Design taken from the Fylfot Stone on Ilkley Moor
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