Rothwell Country Park (rarely referred to as Millennium Park[1]) is a 52 hectares public park, between the north of Rothwell and the Aire and Calder Navigation. The park is a Local Wildlife Site[2], with a pond trail and a sculpture trail; a summit, which offers a view of Leeds; and connections to the Trans-Pennine Way. [3]
The park opened on the 24th of June 2000[4] and is managed by Leeds City Council, in partnership with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and the Friends of Rothwell Country Park.[3] The site was a hunting ground in the Medieval period and then a colliery in the 19th and 20th Centuries, until it was redeveloped in the mid 1990s.[4]
History
Roman Britain
Excavation at Rothwell Country Park
In August 1977, over 5 days, the West Yorkshire County Archaeology Unit excavated a "ditched rectangular enclosure" at Rothwell Colliery (approx. grid reference SE 352 295 or SE 352 297) , which is now the site of Rothwell Country Park. Further excavations were carried out in September and October of the same year.[5]
Roman-era Well
The most significant finding from the excavation was that of a Roman-era well. The well was 12.3-12.6m deep and approximately 2m wide. Like the well found in Dalton Parlours villa in Wetherby, it had been cut through bedrock. However, due to the lack of evidence for the contemporary ground surface level, the team were unable to determine the true height of the well as some of it may have been destroyed before the excavation. The archaeology unit emptied the well in its entirety and found that it was "damp to c. 5.5m, wet from 5.5m to just over 7m and thereafter, waterlogged." Throughout the well there were building debris, from a few structural stones to ceramic and stone tiles. Pottery was also found, mainly pieces that would have been used to prepare and eat food. The pottery indicated that the well was in-use as early as the late 2nd century or early 3rd century, with "subsequent infilling indicates a date in the late 3rd century at the earliest, with rapid infilling in the early to mid-4th century". [5]
Human Skull
A human skull (possibly from a decapitated person) was found in the well. It likely belonged to a male who was about 25 years old.[5]
Animal Bones
A total of 4677 fragments of animal bone were found. Below shows a table of the analysed fragments, however due to poor sampling and sieving strategy it may not be a true representation.[5]
| Species | Total | % |
|---|---|---|
| Sheep/Goat | 489 | 27 |
| Dog | 450 | 25 |
| Cattle | 343 | 19 |
| Pig | 328 | 18 |
| Cat | 44 | 2 |
| Chicken/Guinea | 43 | 2 |
| Equid | 20 | 1 |
| Other | 71 | 6 |
The depths (mostly 9.6-10.5m) with the highest concentration of the fragments suggest that there may have been a period of intense dumping. There was evidence of butchery on the sheep/goats whereas, there were limited signs of butchery on the cattle. The dogs found were a smaller Roman breed, similar to those recovered from Tripontium. It was common in from 100-400AD for disused wells to be used for dog burials.[5]
Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages, Rothwell Country Park would have been part of a large wooded area that nobility used for hunting, such as wild boars. Nobles such as John of Gaunt would have hunted regularly in this area. [4]
In 1530, the Royal Hunting Park of Rothwell was de-parked and hunting would have subsided, while cattle grazing and eventually coal mining would have increased. [4]
19th Century
Around 1867, the Charlesworth family sank a shaft on the site, named Fanny Pit, after the daughter of one of the Charlesworths. Despite millions of gallons of water needing to be pumped out of the shaft every week, the shaft was highly profitable. [4]
20th Century
In 1921, a second shaft was sunk and then deepened in 1924/25. 160 ponies were kept in underground stables at Fanny Pit in 1922. [4]
In 1947, the pit was nationalised and it began to focus on producing coal quickly for the power stations. This led to the introduction of an underground locomotive system. [4]
On the 9th December 1983, the last of the Rothwell Colliery's shafts were closed. They had produced over 75 million tons of coal during the time they were open. [4]
In the mid 1990s, local people, Leeds City Council and Groundwork Leeds, entered a partnership to transform the disused industrial site. Over the next five years, the site had woodland, wetland and meadow planted. [3] Groups and individuals, such as local schoolchildren and local conservationist, contributed to the work. The park was supported by the Millennium Commission, and funding came from the National Lottery's Changing Places programme, Yorkshire Forward, Leeds City Council, the European Commission and the Forestry Commission. [6]
21st Century
On the 24th June 2000, Rothwell Country Park was opened [4] by television presenter and journalist Richard Whiteley. [7] There was a "traditional village fete", which included music and displays by schools, community groups and societies. There were also tours of the park, some by former miners, who explained the mining history of the park, and others explaining how the park was built and what wildlife now inhabited it. There were displays of crafts including willow weaving and stone carving. [6]
In 2010, after years of underinvestment [4] and vandalism, [7] the Friends of Rothwell Country Park was opened to maintain the park.
In 2019, the park was designated a Local Wildlife Site. [2]
Rothwell Country Park was one of the 13 Wildlife Trust sites within 500m of the proposed HS2 train line. The Wildlife Trust's 2020 report, "What's the Damage?", highlighted how the new proposed HS2 line would go further south into the site, where the highest level of biodiversity is, and that construction would have caused damage and possibly introduced invasive species that had been eradicted from the site back into Rothwell Country Park from its boundaries. [2] The government's announcement that the East Midlands-Leeds high-speed line was to be scrapped[8] meant that HS2 would not go through Rothwell Country Park.
See Also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 West Yorkshire Joint Services, West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service and Historic England, 2017. Leeds Historic Landscape Characterisation Project Final Report. [online] Leeds: WYJS, p.750. Available at: <https://www.wyjs.org.uk/media/69833/leeds-historic-landscape-characterisation-project-report.pdf> [Accessed 17 July 2022].
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Wildlife Trust (2020). "What's the Damage?". [online]. Available at: <https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/sites/default/files/2020-01/What's%20the%20damage%20-%20Full%20Report%20digital2_0.pdf> [Accessed 7/12/2020]
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. "Rothwell Country Park". [online]. Available at: <https://www.ywt.org.uk/nature-reserves/rothwell-country-park> [Accessed 3/12/2020]
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Friends of Rothwell Country Park. "History of the Park". [online]. Available at:<https://sites.google.com/site/friendsofrothwellcountrypark/about-the-park> [Accessed 3/12/2020]
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Richardson, J., 2011. Rothwell Haigh, Rothwell, Leeds, West Yorkshire - Excavation Report. [online] Wakefield: ASWYAS. Available at: https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-941-1/dissemination/pdf/archaeol11-92831_1.pdf [Accessed 17 July 2022].
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Stephen Ward (2020). "Rothwell & District: Pictures & Memories from the Past". Leeds: Stephen Ward Photography and Publishing.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 BBC Leeds (2009). "From Park to Pit". [online]. Available at:<http://www.bbc.co.uk/leeds/content/articles/2009/03/02/places_rothwell_country_park_feature.shtml> [Accessed on 7/12/20]
- ↑ Russell Hotten, BBC News (2021). "HS2 rail extension to Leeds scrapped amid promise to transform rail". [online]. Available at: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59334043> [Accessed 23/02/2022]