Rowntree Park

Rowntree Park is a 20-acre (8.1 ha) park in York, England, open to the public, opened on 16 July 1921.^[1]

A statue in the park, with the dovecote and Rowntree Lodge visible in the background.

Background

The park features children's playgrounds, tennis courts, bowling greens, basketball court, skateboarding area and general areas for picnicking. The park also features a large lake, a canal and a water cascade, and is home to many ducks, swans and Canada geese, as well as a large dovecote.^[2] The park's outdoor swimming pool was demolished in the 1980s, despite strong public support for keeping it open.^[3] The park is also home to a reading cafe, which is a branch of the York Explore public library. The cafe is located in the Rowntree Park Lodge, which previously also housed the park keeper's house, and a boat house.^[4][5]

History

It was created in memory of employees of Rowntree's who died in the First World War, and was opened on 16 July 1921 by local entrepreneur and philanthropist Joseph Rowntree. Upon their purchase in 1919, the 17 acres (6.9 ha) of land cost £1,500.^[1] The park now covers an area of 25 acres (10 ha), with it being extended in 1926/7 with the purchase of Clementhorpe allotments, and further in 2000 with the purchase of Butcher Terrace football fields.^[2]

The gates at the riverbank entrance are eighteenth-century and were given by the company as a memorial to the people of York who died in the Second World War. There are further commemorative plaques on the dovecote.^[6]

Rowntree Park celebrated its centenary in July 2021 with an open day and a number of activities in the park.^[7]

Each year since 2004 the park has won a Green Flag Award. This is awarded for reaching the English and Welsh national standard for parks and green spaces.^[8]

Gallery

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  Statue of horse in Rowntree Park
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  Rowntree Park
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  Entrance from South Bank
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  Basketball court