Celebration to mark centenary of Hucknall's Titchfield Park

In 1914, in honour of his Silver Wedding Anniversary and the 21st birthday of his son, the Marquis of Titchfield, the Duke of Portland gave 11 acres of land, known then as Caddow Park, to the town of Hucknall as a recreational facility for local residents, many of whom were coal miners.

Another 13 acres were added by the Hucknall Miners Welfare Committee, funded by a coal tax.

The original brief of the committee was that the park should provide for cricket, football, bowls and tennis courts with trees, shrubs and flowers planted all around.

The design, drawn up by J.W. Bardill, also included a bandstand, tearooms, a pavilion, shelters and a caretaker's lodge.

The works were held up by the outbreak of the First World War and the Marquis finally performed the opening ceremony in July 1922.

The park contains several notable structures including the Memorial, commemorating 288 Hucknall men killed in the Great War, unveiled in 1922 in front of 7000 people.

Other items like the Monument to Zachariah Green (a notable local healer and philanthropist), the Boat House (restored in 2009), the bandstand, tea rooms, cricket pitch and sports pavilion make Titchfield Park a notable feature of Hucknall and its vibrant local history.

Titchfield Park is also an award winning Green Flag Park and includes provision for a range of formal sports and recreational activities. Informal recreation opportunities include a skate park, youth area and children’s playground as well as ball courts.

It also home of the Hucknall Park Run and the Titchfield Park Bowls Club.

The park contains two listed monuments and an original shelter designed by local architect T.C. Howitt, who also designed the Council House in Nottingham.

Mindful of this award-winning facility and all that it celebrates, Ashfield Independents would like to see the centenary of the opening of Titchfield Park in July 2022 publicly marked in some way, as they believe the opportunity should be taken to celebrate the 100 years since its formal opening.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you

Nancy Fielder, editor