NEWMILLERDAM COUNTRY PARK – A WALK THROUGH TIME The Friends of Newmillerdam Country Park have produced a leaflet to help you enjoy a guided walk of approximately 2½ miles through the history of the Park. The leaflet is available locally and from the Boathouse Sunday Café when open. The text of the leaflet follows. The photographs that appear in the leaflet are also shown below. The woodland and lake were designated as a country park in 1976. Covering 237 acres, it is owned and managed by Wakefield Metropolitan District Council. The Park was once part of an estate which belonged to Chevet Hall. According to an old lettered beam, the Hall was built in 1529 for Sir John Neville and his wife Elizabeth and it remained in the Neville family until the 1760s. After the death of her husband Harrison, Anne Pilkington nee Neville, the sole heiress to the Chevet Estate, sold the property to her late husband’s eldest brother, Sir Lionel Pilkington, eighth baronet. The property remained in the Pilkington family until 1949 when Sir Arthur Pilkington sold the Hall to Wakefield Corporation. The Hall was not used again and was sold for demolition in 1955. Leave the car park by the steps just beyond the ticket machine and turn right along the Barnsley Road. A short distance along on the right is Sowtail Well (1). In the days before the village had a tapped water supply, some cottages had a well in the cellar. Those who didn’t have a personal well obtained their water from several wells in the village. Sowtail Well supplied those who lived on the west side of Newmillerdam. A few metres along Barnsley Road and standing at one of the entrances to the Park is West Lodge (2) one of the two surviving lodges situated within the Park. In the 1870's the family built nine lodges to house estate workers. The last inhabitant of West Lodge was Gordon the Warden, employed by Wakefield Council.

Rear side of Chevet Hall looking

towards the dining room 1955

Chevet Hall 1955

West Lodge The Old Corn Mill

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Continue across the dam. On the other side of the road beyond the café is the Corn Mill (3). A mill was in existence as early as 1285 when the deep valley was dammed to provide a reservoir which would give a head of water needed to turn the water-wheel. The present building dates from round 1820. By 1960 the mill was no longer in use. Badly damaged by a fire in 1975, it was restored in 1979. The building was last used as a beauty parlour. Further down at the far end of the dam is the war memorial (4). W H Watson, a Wakefield architect, offered to design and supervise the building of the memorial for free and it was constructed by Messrs Hepworth. Funding was raised by subscriptions and entertainments such as concerts. At its unveiling by Lady Kathleen Pilkington on 4th June 1920, £5 remained outstanding – finally paid off in 1925 following further fundraising. Enter the Park by the gates (5) on your right. The gates at the eastern end of the lake were made by Abraham Coldbeck, blacksmith of Newmillerdam. Sir Lionel Pilkinton of Chevet Hall commissioned the work in September 1871 and they were finished in February 1872. They were made in the blacksmith’s shop (now 653 Barnsley Road) and carried down and erected by Coldbeck and his son. The building on the left is East Lodge (6), thought to be built in the latter part of the 19th century. There are two features at East Lodge which differ from the other lodges. One is the ‘Angel Window’ and the second is the Pilkington coats of arms adorning the building at roof height. Notice also the stone hood moulds above the door and windows – a basic form of guttering.

Follow the lakeside path for 350 metres. The building on the right is the Boathouse (7), built around 1835 by the Pilkington family to provide facilities for the family and guests while they were duck shooting and fishing on the Dam. Steps from the lower room led down to a small jetty under the archway at water level where a small boat was kept. In Sir Thomas Pilkington’s time Clincker, the housekeeper at Chevet Hall, would send a large wicker picnic basket packed with food and drink. Guests ate in the upper room and the estate workers ate in the lower room. At the end of the shoot the ducks were sent back to the Hall where they were added to the game pantry. The boathouse became council property in 1951 and was renovated in 1999 at a cost of £272,000, the money coming from the Heritage Lottery Fund, European Regional Development Fund and Wakefield Council.

Continue along the lakeside path as far as the causeway (8). Look for the steps on the left just beyond the causeway and climb through the woodland until you reach the bridleway. St Helena’s Lodge (9) stood at the boundary of the field. While nothing remains of the house, the distinctly curved wall and the gate are still in place as are rabbit traps built into the wall. Each one consisted of a small stone lintel above a hole through the wall at ground level. A narrow pit through the wall was covered by wood balanced rather like a see-saw in the centre. When a rabbit ran through the hole the wood dipped and the rabbit fell alive into the pit. Each evening the gamekeeper examined each trap and let loose female and young rabbits, while buck rabbits went for the pot.

Plan of the Gates The Angel Window – East Lodge

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From the site of St Helena’s Lodge follow the bridleway to the “crossroads” (10). At this point by turning left and taking a short uphill diversion of 150 metres the old coach road to Chevet Hall stables can be seen. Follow the path as it bends to the left and look for the remains of a gateway (11) on the right. The coach road goes beyond the gateway for about 10 metres but originally continued to the stables at Chevet Hall. Retrace your steps to the “crossroads” and look for the stones in the path which helped the horses on the incline.

Turn left at the “crossroads” and take the public footpath to the edge of the woodland, which was the site of the menagerie (12). There is no recorded evidence of exotic animals being housed here but it was fashionable in the 18th century for the homes of the gentry to boast such animals – a status symbol.

There are only ruins today to show that a building stood here. In Sir Thomas Pilkington’s time it was known as the kennels and it housed families of estate workers. One such was the Mellor family, with brothers William (see photograph), Harry and Ben all gamekeepers.

Another game-keeping family to live at the menagerie were the White family and a grandson was surprised to see in the parish registers that his grandfather was born in the dog house! In reality this was the kennels alias the menagerie.

Boathouse Renovations Picnic at the Boathouse

St Helena’s Lodge

Gateway on old road to Chevet Hall

Stables

William Mellor

The Menagerie

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Return to the crossroads and turn left to the bridge across Bushcliffe Beck (13). Another gate was originally here but only the two stone gateposts remain. From the bridge follow the path by the stone wall (14) on the left. This was rebuilt in 2014 by volunteer stone wallers, Dennis and Paul Brunneye, who incorporated some interesting features. After about 130 metres take the path to the right, cross the bridleway and follow the track towards the lake as far as the humpback bridge (15). Cross the bridge and on the left is the start of the Lawns Dike trail (16) built by the Friends of Newmillerdam Country Park A circular boardwalk with seating leads to a view of the valley. It was built to encourage visitors to explore new areas of the Country Park away from the popular lakeside path. It is constructed of non slip, recycled plastic. Funding was mainly from the Landfill Community Fund administered by WREN. In 2014 the Lawns Dike Trail was awarded first prize by the Wakefield Civic Society in the best new project category.

With the sign for the Lawns Dike trail on your left, follow the track that climbs up through the woodland. The conifer plantation on the right - King’s Wood (17) - is a reminder of the area’s industrial heritage as the purpose of the original planting was to provide wood for pit props.

Stone Wall Feature Gatepost near the bridge

across Bushcliffe Beck

Lawns Dike – 1950s

The Bear

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You are now following the Gnome Roam trail in reverse and full details of that route are available in a separate leaflet.

Turn right at the next track and make a short diversion to visit the Newmillerdam bear (18) – follow the sign on your right. A board tells the story of the bear that escaped from its cage in 1867 and terrified the local residents.

Return to the track and follow it round to the right and then take a left turn towards the arboretum (19).

The arboretum area was first planted by Wakefield Council in the early 1980’s with a diverse collection of small trees. In 2007 the newly-formed Tree Wardens voluntary group was asked to take on the major project of restoring the arboretum working with the Council’s forestry team. The area was first cleared of sick, dead and damaged trees and then new trees were added with benches, bird and bat boxes and wild flowers, all funded by the community. Many of the trees are dedicated to lost loved ones and a book of dedication is on display in the Boathouse.

At the far end of the arboretum take the steps or the track (beware of cyclists) to return to the car park.

The Friends of Newmillerdam Country Park are extremely grateful for the historical information and photographs provided by Elsie Walton. Thanks are also due to the Crigglestone Local History Archive and Wakefield Metropolitan District Council.