More than £90k secured for Beaumont Park Pavilion
Friends of Beaumont Park and Kirklees Council have secured £93,100 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to re-instate the park’s historic pavilion, helping to restore one of the park’s original glorious features and ensuring it continues to attract visitors.
The original pavilion was demolished in 1998, and several of the other original Victorian features of the park, such as the Castle refreshment rooms, a bandstand and a lake, were also lost due to neglect over the years. To save the park for the community local people came together and formed the Friends of Beaumont Park.
A survey by the friends group showed re-instatement of the pavilion was one of their main wishes. The total cost of the Pavilion will be of £145,000, and the friends have so far had a huge response from the community, raising a large part of the funds needed through legacies, donations and crowd funding.
Local school children will be involved in the project, learning about the history of the pavilion and Park heritage through art and photographs. They will also be involved in the design of the heritage information boards which will be sited in the pavilion.
Improvements already undertaken in the last few years have resulted in a large increase in visitors. The main play area was restored in 2011 and now hosts many events throughout the summer months. When events take place in the park the friends group set up a kiosk and have to transport supplies over a distance of a quarter of a mile. The new pavilion will solve this problem and provide a permanent resource for schools and community activities.
The land for the park was originally donated in 1879 by Henry Frederick Beaumont, as at the time the town did not have a public park, despite having a population 35,000. During the ceremonial cutting of the first sod, Henry said:
I have long seen that your town has needed a park, and it gives me great pleasure to place at your disposal the very best site at my command. In my opinion public parks and open spaces are almost necessities to large and populous towns; they tend to increase the happiness of all – young and old, rich and poor. They help to develop the frame and constitution of the young and promote the general health of the people.”
Volunteers will be involved in the work, so anyone who wants to join in to help in this exciting project can contact the Friends of Beaumont Park by email friends@fobp.co.uk or by phone on (01484) 645217.