Community comes together to celebrate Burley Park’s 125th anniversary

By Angela Harrison

On a sunny and warm late summer Saturday afternoon, the Friends of Burley Park celebrated the 125th anniversary since the park was opened on 8 September, 1900.  

Families and friends of all ages were gathered on the lawns with their picnics and taking in the live bands who were performing in the ‘bandstand’ (which is not really a bandstand, but more on that later!). 

Local bands at the event included:

• The King & I – a jazz-tinged style from swing to blues, latin and ska. 
• The Peace Artistes – folk, jazz, world music.
• Hands Across Ceilidh Band – a range of British, Irish and European dances. 

A treasure hunt had been laid out around the park and proved very popular with the children.

The Friends of Burley Park had set up several stalls, each selling homemade jams and baked goods to raise funds to help cover the cost of running the anniversary event. 

John Preston, the funding officer of the group, said it was a lovely turnout of the community attending the event. There were hundreds of people coming and going throughout the afternoon. 

The park is very much loved by those who use it and is taken care of by volunteers from the Friends of Burley Park, who created orchards around 11 years ago. The orchards line the bottom end of the park and provide the community with free apples, damsons and pears. 

Volunteers meet every second Sunday of the month to tend to the orchards and flower beds. 

When the park was created in 1900, it provided a much needed recreational space for all, and it still does, as originally intended.

It offers a tennis and basketball court, space to play football, a bowling green, outdoor gym equipment, a running circuit, playground, and is also a great place for walking your dogs! 

History of Burley Park

The area of land – spanning 14.5 acres – was purchased in 1899 by the Leeds Corporation, and opened the following year as a recreational ground on 8 September, 1900. 

Prior to this, the area was farmland and owned by the Earl of Cardigan and divided into plots which were occupied by soon-to-be prominent figures in Leeds: Thomas Backhouse, William Cockerham, and Edwin Birchall Esq. 

From 1845 the upper half of the land was a cricket ground before the land was all purchased by Leeds Corporation. 

At a deputation for the Corporation it was heard that a park was needed for the ever-growing population of Burley, and the land was ideally situated between three schools. The children of Burley had nowhere to play except on the streets, and a park would be a great benefit to children and adults. 

When it was opened to the public on 8 September 1900, there was a sandpit, play equipment, a bowling green, and a cricket pitch. 

There was a bandstand but 50 years later it was gone. 

Today, there is a former shelter that looks like a bandstand, and is used as one. 

John Preston, of the Friends of Burley Park, said that it was an “old man’s shelter” and 35 years ago it had roller shutters around it, with a stove in the centre to keep warm! 

Back in the days when the park was first opened, there were urinals dotted around the land for men to use, and thankfully women had a toilet block, which is located next door to the old Head Gardener’s House (now a house). 

The Victorians created a lovely space which is still well looked after today, 125 years later. 

The people of Leeds will continue to enjoy it for generations to come. 

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