Ilkeston - A Celebration
w/e 27 August 2017
All of this week's pictures were
taken with a Kodak DX6490
There was another event on Victoria Park on Sunday 20th August
that ran all afternoon from mid-day until seven o'clock. It was
called "A Celebration" and was held to mark the completion
of the restoration work in the park. In addition to restructuring
the central flower beds to their original layout along with resurfacing
of some of the paths, the work has seen the installation of new
gates, the complete refurbishment of both the bandstand and the
pergola and the redesign and upgrading of the Bowls Pavilion.
Notices on the new gates invited everyone to join in the celebration
and promised a Victorian day of "Free family fun with live
music, local bands, singers and brass bands in the bandstand,
and a historical parade and children's entertainment." We
didn't stay for the duration of the event but did spend a couple
of enjoyable hours there. We arrived just as a loud - very loud
- group were bringing their set to a close. We could hear them
on the Market Place!
The restoration work came about following the award from the
Heritage Lottery Fund, acknowledgement of this being recorded
in this display in the park.
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Near the existing play area, swing boats had been erected for
the duration of the event.
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An area below the Duke Oak had been set aside for a circus skills
workshop to add to the entertainment.
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Various displays were put on around the bandstand and before
we left there was one by the Kerry Ledger School of Dancing that
we enjoyed.
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There were various stalls and gazebos including this one for
the Ilkeston Theatre Company.
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And it was the Theatre Company members that we followed on a
winding route through the park as they re-enacted various time
periods with a series of dramatic presentations. It began with
an introduction at the bowling green and then moved back in time
to the park gates in 1902 and the official opening by the Duke
of Rutland. In his speech he recalled how he had decided to loan
the land to the people of Ilkeston to create a green space for
all in 1896 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.
It had taken a number of years for the project to come to fruition
during which time the monarch had died but the park was still
named after her.
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The story now moved to beneath the Duke Oak, so named because
it was planted at the official opening by the Duke of Rutland.
Here we met Arthur, the first Park Superintendent and his wife,
who reminisced about the early days of the park.
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By 1912 there was still no bowling green in the park although
Arthur and the Council had made improvements but by then, two
marble pillars had been acquired from recently demolished Nottingham
Gaol via Rutland House on Heanor Road in Ilkeston. Two years
later plans had been drawn up for a bowling green at a cost of
about £273, a pavilion at £170 and a cast-iron bandstand
to replace the existing wooden structure for about £310
- that's about £18,000 in today's money. The outbreak of
the First World War put paid to all of that though.
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Arthur was still working in the park in 1915 and was now "digging
for victory" but one of his sons was captured and held prisoner
for two years. On his return from the war he followed in his
father's footsteps and became the first Superintendent at the
Rutland Recreation Ground. After the war a German Howitzer was
delivered to the park as one of the spoils of war and placed
near the pergola. Arthur was kept busy keeping children off the
gun but it mysteriously disappeared a few years later. It was
in 1923 that those pre-war plans finally saw fruition when the
Mayor of Ilkeston opened the bowling green and the replacement
bandstand on August 2nd. The bowling green took £13 during
the first week which today would be about £676 so proved
to be a good investment as it is still in use today.
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Over the years since then the park has continued to be a green
lung in the town with varying degrees of popularity. By the 1980s
it was not unusual to see families enjoying a picnic around the
bandstand listening to brass bands, most popular among them of
course being Ilkeston Brass. The final dramatic performance depicted
one such picnic with articles and toys from the decade including
a Rubik's Cube. This was in the days before mobile phones, wi-fi
and the internet of course and while these are essential for
many people today, the refurbishment of the park which was being
commemorated will surely give Victoria Park a new lease of life.
Events like this will keep in at the forefront of Ilkeston life
in the 21st century.
I am indebted to the lady from the Ilkeston Theatre Company who
acted as the narrator for the presentation and who provided me
with a copy of her notes that included much of the detail for
this page.
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