A thoroughly enjoyable evening last night as the guests of Aireborough Historical Society who invited David Myers and myself to talk about the History of Parkinson’s Park, and show some of the films that David has made in the past about the legacy of Frank and Albert Parkinson.
The association of the site of the Park with Frank and Albert Parkinson began in 1918 when the first F & A Parkinson Ltd works was built on Netherfield Road in order to produce electrical motors.
Rainbows, Brownies and Guides planted a bank of fruit bearing trees for the Queen’s Green Canopy along Jubilee Walk in Parkinson’s Park on Sunday 4th December 2022.
The late Queen Elizabeth decided that her legacy for her Platinum Jubilee would be a nurturing Green Canopy of native trees for the United Kingdom. The Woodland Trust, as a partner in this scheme, has been donating packs of whips to local groups to plant and register as part of the canopy so that as many people as possible could take part in building this legacy for the future. (This is now extended to March 2023.)
Continue readingWe hope to see you tomorrow at our stall at Guiseley Christmas Lights Market. Come and say hello. We’ve got the following on offer:
Don’t forget to also visit St Oswald’s Christmas Tree Festival, which opens tomorrow. We’ve put up one of the exhibits for The Queen’s Green Canopy. There are also lots of other lovely trees too done by various local organizations. There will be an Advent Service in the church at 7pm (not the advertised 6.30pm).
Our Queen’s Green Canopy Festive Christmas tree has a range of leaves and regal bits and bobs almost all crafted by Friends. There is crochet, felting, knitting, needle-felting, pipe-cleaner modelling, and marbling. Thanks go to Barbara Winfield, Becky James, Caroline Herries, Jennifer Kirkby, Nicola Denson, Peter Kirkby and Vivien Hornsby-Smith. We choose the theme to go with our main event in 2022, the dedication of the Jubilee Tree and planting more trees in the Park for the Queen’s Green Canopy.
Like so many across our Nation we mourn the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II; she had a unique and simple power to make us happy. That is why we loved her. As public figures come and go she has been the constant in the lives of many of us, we have never known anything else – singing God Save the King instead will seem very strange.
The Friends of Parkinson’s Park are now keen to fulfil one of the Queen’s Jubilee wishes for there to be a Green Canopy planted in her name. We started with the dedication of the Jubilee Tree in June and at the start of December we will be planting more trees along Jubilee Walk, and trees in the Orchard with the help of local uniform groups and residents.
In June we also commissioned a special ‘Green Canopy’ story for the Jubilee Tree and that will be made available in booklet form later in the Autumn, as our tribute to the Queen and a record of this historic time.
We now enter a period of national mourning and reflection, and so we’ve used the Queen’s favourite flower, Lily of the Valley, as our background.
The dragon has been important in Northern European cultures for millenia; as seen in artefacts, poems and sagas. Its symbolism is complex but includes courage, watchfulness and protection – dragons can be good, or bad.
Iron Age Britons, Anglo Saxons and Vikings all used zoomorphism (or animal symbolism) to describe many things from humans to the mood of the sea. The Vikings had their dragon ships, the Welsh still have a dragon on their flag* and the Anglo Saxon burial at Sutton Hoo ( 625 AD) is famous for its dragon helmet. The British King Arthur was the son of Uther Pendragon, whilst the Anglo Saxon poem Beowulf tells of heroic dragon slaying. Modern stories that draw on earlier folklore also have their dragons from The Hobbit, to Harry Potter.
In Guiseley, we too have a dragon: you can find it on part of a 9th century, early medieval cross, now in St Oswalds. This motif has also been carved on the stone at Guiseley Wells when it was restored at the Millennium as a Heritage Lottery project. Now, given what we know about the history of the land which is now Parkinson’s Park, we have a Guiseley dragon protecting our Orchard, based on an Anglo Saxon drawing.
* Our area used to be part of the British Kingdom of Elmet 470 – 617 AD – it was closely allied with the Kingdom of Gwynedd. At the end of the 5th century Elmet had a King called Arthuis ap Masgwid he was likely named after the slightly earlier High King of Britain King Arthur, of legend fame.
This year, 2021, is the 100th Anniversary of the founding of The Royal British Legion, set up to help members of the Armed Forces and their families after World War I – a task they continue to do. The Guiseley Branch was set up in 2022, and so will have their anniversary next year.
To commemorate Armistice Day we have 100 poppies on the poppy blanket on the Park’s Farm Gate which have been done by a variety of Friends. You are welcome to add your own at any time. (We will keep all the poppies and gradually cover the whole gate over the years.) All donations will go to the RBL.
Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
Whispering “it will be happier”.
~ Alfred Lord Tennyson – The Foresters 1892
2020 A Year of Learning
Well, 2020 did not work out as we had planned, but overall it is probably true to say that for Parkinson’s Park it worked out better; we certainly learnt a lot.
Along the way we lost our community event programme, two benches, and help from Open Country. But as one door shuts another opens, and we gained lots of new visitors using the Park for a variety of purposes, many more people getting involved in building community spirit, a new wood and 4 brand new benches.
We also gained an award as one of the Leeds Parks supporting their local neighbourhood during the Spring Pandemic, and were able to tell our story as one of only 4 Leeds Parks featured on ITV Calendar’s Park Life.
Thank you to everyone who has worked together this year to make the Park special, the people who use it, the people who tidy it, and the ones who enhance it for other to enjoy. Here are some of your photos of 2020
The Friends of Parkinson’s Park wish everyone a good New Year.
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Back in August 2020 we received an email from the Leeds Parks Forum; ITV Calendar were looking to “tell the story of quirky, interesting, pictorially stunning areas which are spaces valued by the locals and those who visit“. We knew we met that criteria and sent in some information to producer Mark Witty.
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Along with our new Ecology and Geology information board, we have designed an I-Spy Trail for children to learn about the different habitats in the Park and spot some of the key nature items in each.
If you would like a copy they are available at the following places marked in red. Continue reading
The Ark Display team who installed the boards.
Parkinson’s Park had the first Guiseley heritage interpretation boards put up today (23rd August 2018), the culmination of a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee heritage project sponsored by the Heritage Lottery Fund and run by Jennifer Kirkby and Barbara Winfield of FOPP.
For the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee FOPP received Continue reading
Friends of Parkinson's Park CIC 
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