We need your stories and pictures of Parkinson’s Park to capture it’s history and use – see the All Our Stories section ; this is an ongoing project to record local social history.
Please leave them in the comment section below, or email them to us on parkinsonspark@gmail.com and we will publish them here.
Friends of Parkinson's Park CIC 
My Granddad used to take me for walks up there; he told me there was a well, but I never found it. Shame its such a mess now, I’ve got really fond memories of my time there.
Great place to play when I was a kid, we did anything and everything – collected conkers, flew kites, and climed every tree we could find. We made dens, and there was a special one on the steep slope made aby a fallen tree. The bog was a fun place to go; it was wet and muddy and we used to try and run over it: we lost our shoes many times.
Every year, around October, the kids in Netherfield Crescent went chomping – to they even know what chomping is these days? All the wood was stored initally just over the wall in the park, ready for the bonfire. The week before the 5th November the fire was built and organized, and on bonfire night we all got together. Everyone brought their own fireworks and sparklers, and stood around the fire. People baked parkin, and toffee it was just a couple of nice hours where everyone from Nethercliffe Road and the Crescent got together.
It was a favourite place to take my son on nature walks when he was little, although we didn’t go in as often when the cows where there – cowpats and little boys don’t mix!! In spring we’d look at the bluebells, in summer we’d go and have a picnic, and in autumn he liked to collect the conkers, and then his Dad hardened them off in vinegar ready to take to school for conker fights. I took my granddaughter there in the summer to do a nature walk: it was so wild and overgrown, she ended up wanting to be carried.
I’m pleased you mentioned the cows. When I first moved to Guiseley I remember the cows appearing every year, they seemed to eat the grass and then disappear again. I was beginning to think they were a figment of my imagination.
I was an employee at Crompton Parkinson for almost 34 years and the park was a lunchtime refuge, weather permitting. In good conditions I would venture up to one of the few park benches to find peace and tranquility. This would help to relieve the stresses of my job. The splendid views from the top of the park included the moors above Embsay and Barden to the North. This would stimulate happy thoughts of walking in the Dales with a group of my colleagues who had formed a walking club. We call it ‘Parkinsons Mountain Treckers’ and we still gather for a walk every month.
I enjoyed seeing the park change with the seasons. One particular tree was always early to blossom at the first hint of spring and come autumn it was the first to shed its leaves.
My children used to love playing on Parkinson’s Park when they were small and always sledged down the slopes when there was snow on the ground. One year I remember that my daughter sledged right into the bench that was at the bottom of the slope and cut her eye very badly. Trying to drag her back up that slippery slope was no easy task, as fast as I got her up part of it we both slipped back down.
Anyway she has still got the scar today above her eye and my little grandchildren just love to hear that story.
Parkinsons Park is part of the history of everyone who lives in this area of Guiseley and we want it to stay that way for future generations to come( hopefully without the scars however)
I’ve stood on the brow of the hill and watched the sun set for 17 years; it’s just fantastic to be able to do that: a seat would be even better !!
In the 1940s when I was small I used to go to the park with my best friend Julie to pick milkmaids and waterblobs in the boggy area at the bottom of the park – it involved getting pretty muddy which didn’t go down too well with our Mums. We picked harebells in the summer and bluebells in the spring. We loved playing at “dressing up” and in May we used to play at having a May Queen ceremony so we picked bluebells for our crowns and bouquets. In the summer we used to slide down the “fairy grass” – got our knickers filthy, which again wasn’t popular with the Mums. Our older brothers used to fly their model aeroplanes in the park and we all flew kites. When my brother was swotting for his exams he used to take his books into the park, tie a kite to his foot and at mealtimes I was sent to find him by looking for the kite! In winter we sledged – there were two steep runs, one with a “jump”. One of them was called the Snow Drop if I remember. There was a less steep run for the timid down the diagonal path.
Sorry about picking the flowers – nobody thought there was anything wrong with that. In fact, you would always arrive home from a walk with a posy of wildflowers.
Me and my friends used to spend every summer there. We would take our phones and ipods to listen to music, we would take our picnics and have a lovely lunch in the sunshine. One of our favourite places must be this huge sycamore. There is this branch that we used to sit upon and enjoy the sunshine and shade. Another place is the little sandy clearing half-way down the slope with a path leading too it, anyone know it? We used to go there to sit down beneath the trees and talk about whatever needed talking about I guess. Parkinsons will always have a place in our heart.
The park and its high paths were part of every week day for me, because I used them as part of my walk … a run really …to ‘Green Bottom School …and me, and my friends, called the stone triangular area (now no longer triangular, but graced by a solid stone and split log seat ) ‘Old mans corner’.
The sledging track .. at the northern end with the jump … was ‘The Snow-Drop’ and, as Jane recalls there was wonderful ‘fairy’ grass between the snowdrop and old-mans corner where kids could do summer sledging (on cardboard sledges).
It is wonderful to see it, ‘Parkies’ being restored … well done.
John I remember your surname My name is Graham Hogben and I have two brothers Howard and Simon…………ring any bells?
Hello Graham
I am sitting with Bertha and Eddie Slingsby reminissing about Parkinson’s park
Chris Brougham ( nee Slingsby)
John, my brother and I went to Green Bottom school in the 40’s and we used to walk back to Grandparents house in “Waverley” no1 Nethercliffe Crescent. We lived at Victor Drive. I loved that walk the sliding down the hill on tin trays the walk right up to the top and the Chevin. Oh such happy days.
I used to live on Netherfield Road from 1981 to 1997 and Cromptons field (as we all knew it back then) was where virtually all my childhood was spent. Whether it was building treehouses, sledging, playing cricket in the car park, tennis on the old courts or whatever, chances are me and my mates would be on there. Loved it, and I am glad some of it is being kept.
I could write a book about my childhood in the 50s and early 60s and Parkinson’s Park, I lived on Nursery Road and would walk to school at Green Bottom along the footpath above the park every day on our way home my mates and I would stop at Old mans corner, and dare each other to jump from the wall over a barbed wire fence into the park! The park was our summer holiday playground, we would make racing tracks on the slopes and race our dinky and corgi race cars, Every activity had a short season all enjoyed in the park, conker season, race car season, throwing arrow season, Marbles season and so-on. Every tree had a name, The Galleon. the Old oak etc. we would build dens and hang swings from ropes to tree branches. We held our Bonfire for the whole estate to enjoy on the field above the park. we went “Chomping”? does anyone remember what this was? I could go on for ever……….. oh happy memories.
Great to here about the summer Gala, Although my Father worked at Wilsons (silver cross prams) I can remember getting tickets for the Gala each year circa 1955 to 60, I remember the races in particular egg and spoon, sack, three legged race., and the miniature railway. The Factory Gala was held in the gardens I think to the side and behind on the Park side of the Factory? I remember them being well looked after with nice lawns and rose boarders, sorry I have no photos.
To Chris Brougham. I have tried to track family down over the years with little success! If you would like to get in touch I am on FB ( Hogben is easy to find)
Memories of Parkinson’s Park 1965-1983
Bluebells
Fairy rings (circles of bushes that we imagined had magical powers)
Sledging
Dog walking
Dens
Cows
Children’s Day – Races, Punch and Judy, Train, Sandpit, Fancy dress, Balloons, Party Tea, Ice cream, Swing boats, Roundabouts, Pony rides, Prizes and so much more.
Picnics
Kites
Tennis
Meeting friends to walk to school
Walking through it with hay and food for my pony up at Fairy Dell
Chumping (collecting wood) for Greenshaw Terrace’s bonfire
Crompton Parkinson’s siren
The view from the top
Not a story from the past, but I’m hoping that I’m making memories for my two children. Whilst only pre school age at the moment, we’ve had many exploratory walks in the park over the last year or so. We love it’s semi wild state and have had great fun following the paths and sometimes going ‘off piste’ or just sitting and enjoying the peace. We’ve been to the organised events too- the annual gala & lantern parade- as well as decorating the advent tree, visiting the bug house, muddy puddle walks and most recently diacovered the delights of blackberry picking, finding autumn leaves, acorns and apple picking. I didn’t grow up locally (I’m from Lancashire originally -ssssshhhh) but as a child was lucky to live in a house with woods behind it. I spent lots of time playing and exploring that wild space and hope that one day my children will talk / think fondly of Parkinson’s park in the same way I think about the woods behind my childhood home.