CHANGING THE LANDSCAPE 1900-2014
TOWNELEY PARK
¥
tHE CHANGING LANDSCAPE
¥
J
Education, Industry, Housing and Sport
oin us to discover how each generation of the Towneley family made their mark on this fascinating parkland.
29
30 31
19
Deer Park Development
37
27
Unity College was built 2008-2010 and is 1metre above the playing fields, with a reservoir under the school and a swale at the end of the grounds, to avoid flooding. The traditional footpath from Fulledge, was redirected, and fences erected 8 metres from the River Calder so the public can use the path without trespassing on school land.
28
The sites of the former Co-op Dairy, Laundry and Bakery were replaced by a carpet making firm, and then by Coloroll wallpapers factory, which was demolished in the late 1990s and replaced by the houses of Mary Towneley Fold. Throughout the 20th Century the marshland of Towneley Gardens, was known as the “Co-op Fields”, but by the 21st Century it had become a natural wetland providing an excellent haven for birds and insects.
1
Co-op Dairy
28 Towneley High School
27
29
Fulledge recreation ground has often been the venue for the Burnley Fair in July, and local bonfires in November. The Fair now often takes place on the Woodgrove carpark when Fulledge is too wet. The area has been designated as a “flood retention area” for the River Calder. In 1993 the Fulledge play area was refurbished. A “Burnley Bonfire” started as a town bonfire in 2013, and is now held on Higher Towneley playing fields.
32
Note smallholdings in the distance
Smallholdings House
The garden centre was developed initially from a smallholding by Mr Vincent, who then sold his fruit and vegetables on Burnley market. He built a bungalow and a house behind the nursery, before it was sold to Phil Calvert. It is now part of the British garden centre network.
41
Wilson’s Smallholdings Wood was created in 2000 as part of the Forest of Burnley and Trees for Burnley millennium project. In 2010 a Smallholdings Trail was established. The wood has many native trees, and now includes 102 trees and a Royal Oak, planted in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The wood is a special place for sighting butterflies, orchids and the occasional deer.
35
42
30
42
In 1959 one of the gatehouses at Hanbrig, the Todmorden Road entrance, was demolished, with only the arch remaining as a pedestrian walkway. A new vehicular entrance created in 1979 incorporated stone gate posts from the former Clifton Colliery 15 .
43
The Deer pond became the first Local Nature Reserve in Burnley in 1995. In 2013 it was drained and the dam remade and the area was re-established as a nature reserve.
In the late 1980s part of the former smallholdings area was sold to developers with the money being used to finance a new golf course at Towneley. In 1988 this became the 9 hole golf course, with a small reception and car park tucked away, out of sight from Deer Park Road, while the housing development became Applecross.
44
31
190
9
The former Towneley school was built in 1941, on land that had been allotments. Before its demolition in 2011, a new bat house had to be built. The whole area could then be developed as parkland, including the Woodgrove car park and the Fit4All fitness equipment.
32
Located on what is now the edge of the 18 hole golf course, the Speedway and Greyhound Track existed for over eight years from 1927, with a crowd of 12000 at the opening. The speedway only held six meetings over four months, but the Towneley Stadium for greyhound racing continued until November 1935.
44
Towneley Speedway
40 19
33
In 1927 Burnley Corporation bought land along Towneley Holmes, and Thanet Lee Wood. At first a 9 hole Golf Course was opened in 1931, and the golf course was gradually extended, having 15 holes by 1963. New charges were applied for in 1967, suggesting the 18 hole golf course was then complete 2 3 .
George Barret, Senior, View of Towneley 1778
In 1909 the Deer Park and Lodge Farm were purchased from the Lady O’Hagan by Burnley Corporation, to build 31 smallholdings, with a house and 1½ acres for each plot. In 1973 these were demolished by the council. Only one of the smallholdings houses remain.
40
5 93
19
A story of change that continued under Burnley Corporation throughout the 20th Century and is still happening today.
The People’s Park
43
27
Leisure and Pleasure The Triangle and event field have had a wide range of uses. The Agricultural Show, the Balloon festival, the Classic Car and the Welsh Ponies’ annual shows, the Race for Life, and the weekly 5k run have all used these areas.
45
33 48
47
The Pavilion and playing fields were opened in August 1931, as part of a National Playing Fields Council initiative and have been used ever since for football and cricket leagues. New paths were laid round the edges of the fields in 2012-14.
46
41
45
(By courtesy of Burnley Civic Trust)
As part of the 2.5million pound Lottery improvements to the Park (2005-2010), the Riverside Car park and the Rotunda cafe and toilets were built, with parking for 400 cars.
47
The children’s playground was unfenced until 1993/4, with mainly pieces of wooden equipment available. It was then fenced and refurbished, including the pan pipes and bell tower, and the original sandworks. By 2006 many new pieces had been added, including the sand diggers with back rests, and the water feature. In 2008 the free standing slide, which had originally been installed at the rear of Towneley Hall, was relocated to the Riverside playground. The spacenet (2006), aeroskate (2008), typhoon (2012), and cableway (2013) all contribute to the 59 individual pieces of equipment in 2014, in this “flagship” playground.
48
© Burnley Council 2016. Job_11937. creative-council.net
46
55 Foldys Cross
Barwise, Bandstand, Boulder and Brewery
53
1901
37
54 39
In 1902 Foldys Cross was situated on the back lawn, but by 1911 it had been renovated and moved to the top of the Lime Avenue. Through HLF funding it was again cleaned and restored in 2008 16 .
34
51
38
36
Magpie in the making
56
Barwise Car Park was named after Joseph Barwise , who, from 1915 until his death in 1965, ran an internationally famous nursery renowned for dahlias. Barwise car park was opened in 1979 and the car park and children’s play area improved in 2009. Barwise dahlias were used in the Italian garden in 2013.
Thanks to all the researchers involved, especially the staff at Burnley Library, and the many other people who have contributed in any way.
For more detail of the History of Towneley Park visit:
www.fotp.btck.co.uk
or follow our blog at towneleypark.wordpress.com
36
Stocks Massey Music Pavilion, built with money from the Stocks Massey Bequest fund, cost £1700 in 1928. Its stage held 50 bandsmen or a choir of 100. It seated 2000, with 1500 standing. When it was partially demolished in 1963 following a fire, the tiered seating area was allowed to “return to nature”.
37
In the early 1900s High Royd was used by Sunday schools for their annual picnics and the Co-op and other organisations for local sports activities, but by 1967 it had become an 18 hole pitch and putt course, open in the summer months.
34 2 19
7
Thanet Lee Wood and the Wilderness
Thanet Lee Wood was bought by Burnley Corporation in 1927, and opened as “Towneley Pleasure Grounds ” . In the 21st Century it has been managed, to remove non-native sycamores and beech, and rhododendron have been pruned and removed. It includes memorial trees and the Sculpture Trail, which was started in 1997, with many pieces made around 2000. By 2014 several pieces had returned to nature, but with new pieces made at the Heritage and Woodland festival, and displayed at Offshoots and around the park, there is still a significant sculpture trail to be seen. From the 1930s it was thought that “Monk’s Well” had been a folly, but in 2003 Blackburn College students’ studies concluded it was a reservoir for use in droughts 12 .
49
57
50
The Bird Reserve enclosed 3½ acres of land in 1966 and aimed to help the birdlife already living there, whilst encouraging other birds to come into the Wilderness. The area had become overgrown in 1989 and Burnley Conservation Trust volunteered to improve it. In 2010 the fencing was replanted with a hedging of holly and hawthorn and the “Stone Bird Box” sculpture was placed among the trees, with a wicker viewing area for the public to observe the birds. 11
49
50
35 The Hall and Gardens Towneley Hall and 62 acres of land were sold to Burnley Corporation by Lady O’Hagan (Alice Mary Towneley) for £17500 (equivalent to 2 million pounds in 2017) in 1901, to be used by the people of Burnley. The Park opened in 1902. The hall, which had been emptied of its content by Lady O’Hagan was opened in 1903. Items have since been bought or donated to refurbish the hall as a museum and art gallery. The sundial on the south buttress of the Hall commemorates Richard Towneley’s (1629-1707) setting up of a weather station at Towneley.
51
38
The Higham Boulder, in the Park since 1907, states “…Volcanic Boulder found in Higham…” This gave its name to Boulder Walk from the back lawn, to Boggart Bridge. Also Clifford Oakes’ Bird Bath can be seen on the corner of back lawn.
39
The building used by the Towneley family as a brewhouse and laundry, had to be restored in 1970, and was opened to the public in 1971 as the Museum of Local Crafts and Industries, with a collection of tools and other artefacts relating to local social history. Based upon the Ordnance Survey mapping with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office © Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Burnley Borough Council. Licence No. LA-077364 2014
58
52
35
The Friends of Towneley Park were awarded a Heritage Lottery Grant in 2013 to research and record the changing landscape and produce a leaflet to make information readily available to everyone. This leaflet has been reprinted in 2017, using the Friends’ funds and is complemented by a blog which is much more detailed and illustrated, and has been added to over time.
DATE OF COUNCIL ACQUISITION
Towneley Hall
In the Italian garden the bird bath fountain was installed in 1945, with two bronze deer acquired from Lowther Castle in 1948. Through HLF funding the garden was re-laid in 2009, with the fountain working once again and wicker deer on site in 2013 4 .
52
Lady O’Hagan
53
The Stables Cafe in the coachhouse was established in 1903 with the cafe refurbished in 1951 and a veranda added, when the stables in front of it were demolished. The fire escape was added by 1976 to allow private functions on the 1st floor. During HLF funded improvements to the Park (2005-10) the verandah became a conservatory. In 1929 the servants quarters, attached to the hall, were finally demolished, and the stone from them used to build three cottages in the woodland along the Causeway. 2001/02 saw a new block built on the footprint of the servants quarters, including a shop, toilets and offices.
54
Along the Causeway the Ice House was made safe in 1963, with improved access in 1975, but it has become a bat roost. As bats are a protected species, only people with special permits can enter the former ice house 19 .
55
56
Within the walled garden a bowling green was built on part of the site in 1902, and the remainder of the site was used as the works depot for the council’s parks department. By 1997 this depot had become derelict, and so a group of enthusiasts introduced ideas of permaculture to the area, and Offshoots was founded, with recycling at the heart of all its activities 9 .
57
Following World War 1 (1914-1918) the War Memorial was bequeathed by Caleb Thornber, (see the inscriptions on the front and back of the sculpture for more detail), while the Garden of Remembrance was provided by the people of Burnley at a cost of £1154.9s10d , including the crazy paving, and the reflective pond.
58