Wardown Park

Wardown park
A pedestriansuspension bridgespans the boating lake created where theRiver Leaflows through the park
Location	Luton,Bedfordshire, England
Coordinates	51°53′37″N00°25′08″W
Operated by	Luton Borough Council
Status	Open all year

Wardown Parkis situated on theRiver LeainLuton.The park has various sporting facilities, is home to theWardown Park Museumand containsformal gardens.The park is located betweenOld Bedford Roadand theA6,New Bedford Roadand is within walking distance of the town centre.It is Grade II listed inHistoric England'sRegister of Parks and Gardens.

History

The area that became Wardown Park was a farmhouse and country residence in the 1800s. The park itself started out as a private estate owned byRichard How.Richard's son, Robert built the first property within the park, called Bramingham Shott, which still stands and now houses the museum.

In the early 1870s the estate was taken over by local solicitor,Frank Chapman-Scargill.He rebuilt much of the earlier house in 1879 for a total cost of £10,000. Scargill left Luton and the house and property was let to J Forder who renamed the estate Wardown. Frank Chapman's last surviving son (Jasper Chapman Scargill) died in Ireland 22 October 2012 at the age of 97 (93 years after the death of his father).

By 1903 the then owners (The Stewart Family, whose famous son,Sir Malcolm Stewart,founded theLondon Brick Company) decided to sell the house and 11-acre (45,000 m²) park, and placed the property up for sale with an asking price of £17,000. The property was not sold, and in 1904 local councillorsAsher HucklesbyandEdwin Oakleypurchased the property for £16,250 on behalf of Luton council. Hucklesby went on to become Mayor of Luton.

Over the next few years extensive improvements were implemented, many new trees were planted, as well as new footpaths and bridges being constructed. The layout of the park today is very much as it was in this period. A bowling green was built in 1905, reputed to be the first in Luton.

Features

Luton Museum

Main article:Luton Museum

It was Hucklesby's dream that the house would become a museum that would be 'interesting as well as of an educational nature'. Unfortunately, the house itself had been neglected and suffered fromdry rot,Luton council could not immediately afford the renovations. It remained empty for several years until it became amilitary hospitalduringWorld War I.After the war, rooms were let to council employees with a cafe opening on the ground floor. The museum opened in 1930, having moved from theCarnegie librarywhere it started in 1927. At first the museum displays were held in just two rooms, but over the years it has filled the entire house. Themuseumis open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 10am to 5pm and Sundays from 1 to 5pm. Admission isfree.

Lake

At the centre of the park is a lake, formed by widening the River Lea during the development of the park in the Victorian era. The lake contains a small island which is not accessible to the public, and is home to various waterfowl, such asswans,ducksandgeese.At the end of the lake closest to the town centre is a large fountain. Adjacent to the lake is the recently (2005–06) refurbished children's play park.

DuringWorld War II,the nearbyBedford VehiclesDunstable plantneed to waterproof test the trucks that it was building for theBritish Armyin preparation forD-Day.So with permission, it drove them through the lake instead of building a specific test tank.

After WW2, the lake was extended to form an open-air swimming pool, which was in use until the 1950s. Boating on the lake was then introduced, and until the boat-man retired in 2004 you could hire a row-boat in the summer.

Daisy Chain wall

The Daisy Chain Wall.

The Daisy Chain wall is one of the park's most significant design features, named because of the attractive brick pattern that features along the length of the wall.

Believed to have been built around 1905, the wall was part of the original gardens of Wardown House before it was made into a public park. The condition of the Daisy Chain Wall had deteriorated over the years until many of its features were damaged and destroyed, however with extensive re-construction the wall now appears as it did one hundred years ago. The wall separates the main park from the pleasure garden, which was formerly an ornamental garden containing trees such as giantredwoodsand an avenue of limes.

The wall runs alongside part of the Daisy Chain Walk, a path connecting the main park with thebowling green,bowling pavilion and the east side of the tennis courts.

Restoration

The restoration of Wardown Park was completed in June 2005, using one million pounds of lottery funding, by the local council as well as the work and contributions of local people. The council and the Friends of Wardown Park, have replaced the old refreshment kiosk with a building mirroring the design of the boathouse. Across the lake from the kiosk is the original boathouse which also underwent restoration with the rest of the buildings of the park. At the same time theEdwardianDaisy Chain wall and drinking fountain were restored using the original designs and old photographs. The drinking fountain is an exact replica of the original based on a photograph from 1907 on display in the museum, however it is a non-working replica.

Cricket ground

Wardown Park

Ground information
Location	Luton,Bedfordshire
Coordinates	51.8959°N 0.4177°W/51.8959; -0.4177
Establishment	1906 (first recorded match)
End names
Stockingstone End Pavilion End
Team information
Bedfordshire (1906–present) Northamptonshire (1973–2004)
As of 25 July 2010 Source:Ground profile

History

Luton Cricket Clubwere founded in 1906 and began playing at the Upper Ground in the same year.In the same yearBedfordshireplayed their firstminor countiesmatch at Wardown Park againstBuckinghamshire.Wardown Park was used thereafter once a year by Bedfordshire forMinor Counties Championship.List A one-day cricketwas first played at the ground in the1967 Gillette Cup,with Bedfordshire hostingNorthamptonshire.Northamptonshire first used Wardown Park as an outground in 1973, when they played a List A match there againstNottinghamshire.Having used the ground as an outground for one-day matches, Northamptonshire first used the ground forfirst-class cricketin 1986 againstYorkshirein theCounty Championship.In this match, Northamptonshire'sRob Baileyscored the inaugural double-centuryat the ground, with anunbeaten200.Northamptonshire played one first-class match a year at the ground until 1997 and continued to play one-day matches there until 1998.TheMinor Counties cricket teamused the ground for a home one-day match in the1998 Benson & Hedges Cup.Northamptonshire returned to Wardown Park in 2004, playing aTwenty20match againstWorcestershire,with Worcestershire'sGraeme Hickscoring an unbeaten 116 from 65 balls.Following the end of Northamptonshire's regular use of Wardown Park as an outground, Bedfordshire continued to play List A matches at the ground until the minor counties were excluded from theCheltenham & Gloucester Trophyin 2005.As of 2024 the ground has hosted 133 Minor Counties Championship matches, fiveMCCA Knockout Trophymatches,and was due to host fourNational Counties T20matches, however these were cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.

The ground is entered from the main park and is encircled by trees. The currentpavilionis an extension of an existing building, which still holds the players changing rooms.The buildings near the ground were used duringWorld War IIbyCivil Defencepersonnel.A raised viewing area runs along the eastern side of the ground and along the western side is a digital scoreboard. The ground could accommodate crowds of 4,000–5,000 and once accommodated a crowd of 6,000 for a benefit match forTom Clarkin 1961.The cricket ground has also played host tofield hockeymatches, with theBedfordshire Eaglesplaying there.The lower cricket ground has never heldcounty cricketmatches and is the homeground of Luton Luctonian Cricket Club.

Records

First-class

• Highest team total:499 for 5declaredby Northamptonshire vGlamorgan,1992
• Lowest team total:46 all out by Northamptonshire vEssex,1995
• Highest individual innings:200not outby Rob Bailey for Northamptonshire v Yorkshire, 1986
• Best bowling in an innings:9–19 byMark Ilottfor Essex v Northamptonshire, 1995
• Best bowling in a match:14–105 by Mark Ilott, as above

List A

• Highest team total:298 for 2 by Northamptonshire vWarwickshire,1983
• Lowest team total:81 all out by Northamptonshire vLancashire,1989
• Highest individual innings:172not outbyWayne Larkinsfor Northamptonshire v Warwickshire, 1983
• Best bowling in an innings:5–14 byFranklyn Rose,for Northamptonshire vMinor Counties,1998

Twenty20

• Highest team total:173 for 5 by Worcestershire v Northamptonshire, 2004
• Lowest team total:80 for 8 by Northamptonshire v Worcestershire, as above
• Highest individual innings:116 not out by Graeme Hick for Worcestershire v Northamptonshire, as above
• Best bowling in an innings:2–15 byDavid Leatherdale,as above

Gallery

• 
  large old trees in Wardown Park, Luton
• 
  Wardown Park, Luton flower beds outside the museum
• 
  Summer house in Luton
• 
  Trees in Wardown Park, Luton
• 
  Trees in Wardown Park, Luton

External links

• Wardown ParkonCricinfo
• Wardown Parkon CricketArchive