Golden Acre Park

Jogon · Post by **Jogon** » Wed 18 Jan, 2012 11:21 pm

Cats eh?Thanks, I could be on one at the weekend.

Tasa · Post by **Tasa** » Wed 18 Jan, 2012 11:29 pm

Jogon wrote: Cats eh?Thanks, I could be on one at the weekend. There are also a couple of Hudswell Clarke locos built in 1933 and still running on the Blackpool Pleasure Beach Railway - the Carol Jean and the Mary Louise, named after the (then) owner's daughters.

jim · Post by **jim** » Thu 19 Jan, 2012 12:44 am

Forgot to mention in my post (11.33, 17/01/12) that "May Thompson" has been renamed "Poseidon", presumably to make a set with the North Bay Railway residents "Neptune" and "Triton". These two engines are Hudswell Clarkes identical to "May Thompson/Poseidon" which have been at Scarborough ever since they were built, and the three have successive Hudswell Clarke works numbers. I believe that "May Thompson" was named after the wife of the owner of Blackpool Pleasure Beach, who also had an interest in the Morecambe line, but am not absolutely sure on this statement. EDITED 21/01/2011 - Jim.

Jogon · Post by **Jogon** » Thu 19 Jan, 2012 9:32 am

Hudswell Clarke engine May Thompson 1933Built for Golden Acre Park who's then owners were Thompsons. Was this a wealthy local entrenpreneur Frank Thompson or Thompsons as in Blackpool Leisure Beach?I've also clarified that this was originally "Black Hill Dam" and so in sequence of water 'head' and outflow (visible on googlesatellite) you have Cookridge Hall + ponds>Paul's pond in Brierley Wood>Black Hill Dam (now the silted up Golden Acre Lake this previously extended back beyond the road)>Adel Dam now a nature reserve>powering Adel Mill>Adel Beck powering Scotland Mill (thence under now ring road)>Adel Beck powering Smithy Mills (corn mill)>under Smithy Mills Lane (now Parkside Rd) Bridge>where it becomes "Meanwood Beck"This water thing deserves it's own thread and I've wandered from Golden Acre to The Hollies

The Parksider · Post by **The Parksider** » Thu 19 Jan, 2012 11:43 am

Jogon wrote: What, where is the blue lagoon swimming pool?Is it the odd brick structure twixt lake and parkway, overgrown?I'd always assumed that was Parkway Septic tanks. Ian and Jogon.AFAIK the swimming pool is the old brick structure still there to the right as you approach the bird feeding area. Go on it and you can see it has been a pool with an old poolside ladder and traces of the blue paint they used??? Parkway almost behind it?

Richard A Thackeray · Thu 19 Jan, 2012 11:57 am

Sorry to digress from the main subjectBut... for any visitors to Golden Acre Park on Sunday 19th February, there'll be a cross-country race (running) taking place http://www.pecoxc.co.uk/index.htmlApologies for no details yet, but it'll be a morning eventHopefully 'Beast' on here will 'tip us the wink' closer to the time, as it's his Club that's organising this one Do expect the car-parks to be full, if you're in the habit of kiddie/dog-walking around it(we had 430+Seniors running at Temple Newsam last Sunday, so even with car-sharing, they'll take up a lot of space)

jim · Post by **jim** » Thu 19 Jan, 2012 12:22 pm

Jogon wrote: Hudswell Clarke engine May Thompson 1933Built for Golden Acre Park who's then owners were Thompsons. Was this a wealthy local entrenpreneur Frank Thompson or Thompsons as in Blackpool Leisure Beach? It was indeed Alice May Thompson, the second wife of Frank Thompson, the developer of the Golden Acre Estate, that the locomotive was named after.I must write out a thousand times "Remember to check facts before making rash statements"!.

Jogon · Post by **Jogon** » Thu 19 Jan, 2012 3:42 pm

Another Golden Acre factoid (then as Black Hill Dam)."The flood of 1829The lake near the centre of my map seems tiny, but in 1829 the people living downstream discovered just how much water it held. According to White's Directory of 1837,At Black hill, near Addle, there was a large reservoir occupying an extent of from twenty to twenty five acres, and formed by the natural inequality of the ground and a large embankment at the east end about fifteen feet high. This reservoir was situated at the head of the stream known nearer Leeds by the name of Sheepscar beck.On the evening of July 11, the quantity of water in the reservoir had been materially increased by a heavy fall of rain during a thunder storm, and in the night the embankment gave way. The beck was in a moment increased to a mighty torrent; the fences, the walls, and bridges were carried away, the lands in the valley were covered; the mills by the bed of the stream were overwhelmed, and the goods they contained on their lower floors were either ruined or carried away; the houses and cottages exposed to the inundation were deluged, their contents were destroyed, and many a poor family lost all the clothing and furniture they possessed in the world; in the neighbourhood of Timble bridge and East street, great confusion was occasioned, as some of the inhabitants were in imminent danger of losing their lives, so that altogether this was by far the most calamitous flood that ever occurred in the neighbourhood of Leeds."Also useful Adel history:-http://www.johnhearfield.com/History/Adel.htm

Leedslad31 · Post by **Leedslad31** » Mon 23 Jan, 2012 12:15 am

Golden Acre's fun-filled past also fascinates me,and the afore-mentioned book is a must for anyone researching the park. I was intrigued to read about the "Blue Lagoon" outdoor swimming pool - an attraction my Dad fondly remembered - and I,too,set off to see if anything remained of it. How strange it felt to be walking amongst the well-established trees and suddenly realise that I was in fact standing in/on the deep end of the Lagoon! The corroded but virtually intact poolside steps still lead down into the Lagoon,nowadays vanishing into the soil instead of 6+ ft of icy water! The tops of the blue-painted concrete walls remain visible in a few areas,marking out the perimeter of the pool.Flicking through the pages of "Leeds' Golden Acres",I soon came across a lovely pic of the Blue Lagoon in it's heyday...excited kids of all ages running,jumping and splashing while Mum and Dad looked on. Sure enough,there were the very same poolside steps,young girl gingerly descending into the chilly water as others opted to make a rather more dynamiic entrance via the nearby slide. The frame of the now flattened slide still protrudes from the soil.Seeking out the exact position used by the photographer many decades earlier,I swear I could still hear the shrieks and laughter of those pre-War visitors to the Blue Lagoon.

Johnny39 · Post by **Johnny39** » Mon 23 Jan, 2012 1:39 am

Leedslad31 wrote: Golden Acre's fun-filled past also fascinates me,and the afore-mentioned book is a must for anyone researching the park. I was intrigued to read about the "Blue Lagoon" outdoor swimming pool - an attraction my Dad fondly remembered - and I,too,set off to see if anything remained of it. How strange it felt to be walking amongst the well-established trees and suddenly realise that I was in fact standing in/on the deep end of the Lagoon! The corroded but virtually intact poolside steps still lead down into the Lagoon,nowadays vanishing into the soil instead of 6+ ft of icy water! The tops of the blue-painted concrete walls remain visible in a few areas,marking out the perimeter of the pool.Flicking through the pages of "Leeds' Golden Acres",I soon came across a lovely pic of the Blue Lagoon in it's heyday...excited kids of all ages running,jumping and splashing while Mum and Dad looked on. Sure enough,there were the very same poolside steps,young girl gingerly descending into the chilly water as others opted to make a rather more dynamiic entrance via the nearby slide. The frame of the now flattened slide still protrudes from the soil.Seeking out the exact position used by the photographer many decades earlier,I swear I could still hear the shrieks and laughter of those pre-War visitors to the Blue Lagoon. The pool was still open in the late 50's - very cold water as I remember.