Although not the clearest of old photographs, this one gives an unusual mundane view of Lund Park, Keighley, normally remembered through the picture-postcard prettiness of its Edwardian ornamental pond and rustic nooks.
Opened in 1891, the gift of mill-owner James Lund, of Malsis Hall, Lund Park, also featured a “magnificent” fountain and a bandstand.
These tennis-players were possibly members of the Women’s Pleasant Hour at the nearby Knowle Park Congregational Mission, who occasionally played during the First World War.
The photograph was taken by Amos Dewhirst, a local newsagent and former Knowle Park choirmaster.
About this time Lund Park kept a resident pony for pulling a mowing-machine and carting soil and manure.
Alas, by 1914, the Keighley Parks Committee were critically debating the cost of its keep; although the gardener who worked with it pleaded that “more than half the pony’s food up to the present has consisted of hay and grass grown in Lund Park, no hay having been bought”.
If you have any old photographs of Keighley’s parks or stories such as the one about the Lund Park pony, then we would be delighted to hear from you.
You can contact us on 01535 606611 or by email malcolm.hoddy@keighleynews.co.uk.
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