Holden Park

Holden Park (also known locally as Oakworth Park) is the only park in the village of Oakworth, West Yorkshire, England. It was given to the people of Oakworth by the family of Sir Isaac Holden in 1927.

The park was formerly the grounds of Holden's house (Oakworth House) and garden. The house was partially destroyed in a fire in 1907, ten years after Sir Isaac's death in 1897. On the site of the house there is now a bowls or bowling green. The huge glasshouses are gone, and all that is left of the winter gardens are the caves and grottoes created by Holden.

The park contains the local war memorial; a stone portico entrance, which is the only surviving remnant of Oakworth House; and Holden's summer house, made from a steel framework and hypertufa shaped to look like wooden branches. Past the grottoes and caves there is a large grassed area which used to be the vegetable garden for the house and was later a putting green, and above this are the woods, which contain many paths originally laid out by Holden.

There is an active Friends of Holden Park group, started in April 2004 and mostly consisting of local people, which seeks to preserve and protect the remaining features with support from the local community.

See also

External links