St. Margarets
Park, between Queens Road and Parish Ghyll Road
This is described in
the Council’s Terrier as a Public Park. It was part of the
Middleton Estates that were purchased by the Local Board for Health
for the District of Ilkley on the 29th June 1893 and thus the
freehold is now vested in the Council as successor to the Board.
Mill Ghyll,
between Wells Walk and Wells Promenade
This is held on a
Lease dated the 1st June 1873 made between William Middleton and
the Local Board for the district of Ilkley. The term of the Lease
is for 999 years. The rent is one shilling per annum, if
demanded, and the use of the land is restricted to that of ornamental
woodland and shrubbery’s. It is described on the Council’s
Terrier as Public Gardens.
The person with whom I
was dealing checked with the Council’s Finance section and no
demands for rent have been made thus it is difficult to ascertain the
identity of the freeholder. They pointed out it may be the
Middleton estate is still in existence and only local enquiry would
ascertain if that was the case or if another party is the successor
to the late William Middleton. The surveyors who acted on the
auction sale on the 26th September 1917 of what was the residuum of
the Middleton Estate were Empsall & Clarkson then of 7, Exchange,
Bradford.
The area so leased,
extends from The Grove, through Corn Mill Gill (as it states on a
copy of the Deeds), taking in two small areas of grass at the
Southern end of the Gill and the wooded stream to the South side of
Queens Road.
Canker Well
Gardens, The Grove
No reference to the above could be found in any deeds relating to the
Middleton Family or Ilkley Local Board of the Canker Well Gardens as
they stand. However, it is suggested they may be included with that
of Mill Ghyll?
