SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Hi guys,Does anyone know where I could find some pictures of Golden Acre Park in the 30's when it was an amusement park?Cheers Nina    

If you search on here, I'm sure that there is a thread about Golden Acre Park with pics.Otherwise www.leodis.net is probably as good a place as any to start - or there is a dedicated Golden Acre group on www.flickr.com .

There's not much on Leodis.C mid 1930s. Aerial view of Golden Acre Park, taken in the mid 1930s shortly after it opened in March 1932. The boating lake is busy with many boats. A miniature railway runs around the edge of the lake and the Galleon Cafe can be seen. The Leeds - Otley Road heads from the direction of Otley, bottom left, towards Leeds. Towards the centre of the left edge there is Black Hill Well Farm, and beyond the trees belong to the Black Hill Plantation. Leeds City Council bought the site of Golden Acre Park in 1945.

Domino85, the book "Aspects of Leeds 3" contains a twenty page article "Dream Builders, the Thompsons of Golden Acre", which describes the creation and building of the amusement park, and of it's failure and sale. There are several photographs. This book is currently available in the remainder bookshop at the top of the Merrion Centre ramp at £1.99. The article concerned is by the same author as the book I mentioned previously, now only available second-hand at an inflated price, "Leeds Golden Acres", by Tony Shelton    

You might get a copy of the Golden Acres book at the Civic Bookshop quite cheap. Worth a shot, I have it and it has some great pictures in it.

LS1, I enquired there last week, it was there I found it was out of print and unfortunately no longer available.

Interesting image:-http://www.framedprintstorehouse.com/mi ... tmlPerhaps more interesting in a Secret Leeds context, is the possibility that the Golden Acre minature railway engines might still be working?Anyone know if it is possible to have a go on one?Hudswell Clarke, Hunslet built two engines for Golden Acre1932 Robin Hood 1933 May Thompson And finally, that Golden Acre Cat. Assumed by many, me included, to be the Park Manager's cat - it isn't. He explained that it actually belongs/belonged to someone near Holt Park but just took off one day and adopted him.Uneasy friendship with his own cat and he feeds them both.Has previously been returned to 'owners' but found it's way back.

domino85 wrote: Hi guys,Does anyone know where I could find some pictures of Golden Acre Park in the 30's when it was an amusement park?Cheers Nina     Not photographs but a home movie from 1937/8. Ignore choldrens day title its all Golden Acre Park.http://www.yfaonline.com/node/7135?dest ... e%3Dbrowse

Hi Jogon. The two golden Acre Hudswell Clarke locomotives have led a nomadic existence. They were certainly at Morecambe (among other sites) for several years, and more recently (2006) moved to the the Scarborough North Bay Railway. I don't know if they are currently in operation there.    

jim wrote: LS1, I enquired there last week, it was there I found it was out of print and unfortunately no longer available. jimthe book is on amazon.forget whatever price is listed, always add about £3 postage