Bingley St. Ives, or St. Ives Estate is a country park;
and former estate between

Bingley Bingley is a market town and civil parish in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, on the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, which had a population of 18,294 at the 2011 Census. Bingley railwa ...

and Harden in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

now owned by Bradford Council. The park has Grade II listing in the

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...

of Special Interest. The park has been given Accredited Country Park status by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

. As well as being a public country park the property is also used by Bingley St Ives Golf Club, the

Sports Turf Research Institute STRI, formerly the Sports Turf Research Institute, is a consultancy for the development of sports surfaces, based in St Ives, Bingley, West Yorkshire, England, providing advice on the research, design, construction and management of both natura ...

, Bradford Independent Care Group, Bingley Angling Club, and Aire Valley Archers. Some 300,000 people per year visit the country park.

History

The St. Ives area is known to have been inhabited from at least the neolithic or Bronze Age from artifacts left behind. Up until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540 the land was divided between the monks of

Rievaulx Abbey Rievaulx Abbey was a Cistercian abbey in Rievaulx, near Helmsley, in the North York Moors National Park, North Yorkshire, England. It was one of the great abbeys in England until it was seized in 1538 under Henry VIII during the Dissolutio ...

and

Drax Priory Drax Priory was an Augustinian priory at Drax in North Yorkshire, England, founded between 1130 and 1139 by William Paynel William Paynel (sometimes William Paganel;Keats-Rohan ''Domesday Descendants'' pp. 1057–1058 died around 1146) was ...

. In 1540 the land was purchased by a Walter Paslew and was subsequently owned by the Laycock and Milner families and the St. Ives mansion house was built in 1616. In 1635 the Ferrands purchased St. Ives at the time known as Harden Grange, and it was in 1858 that the names of Harden Grange and the local St. Ives were interchanged. There are stories of a local connection with General Fairfax and the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, regrettably little is known with certainty.;
Sarah Busfeild (née Ferrand) inherited St. Ives from her uncle and she and her son William changed their family name to Ferrand and, when she died in 1854 her son William Busfeild Ferrand inherited the property. The estate and mansion were bought by Bingley Urban District Council in 1929.

Landmarks

Geese and sculpture of a fish on Coppice Pond - geograph

A granite obelisk close to Lady Blantyre's Rock north west of Coppice Pond commemorates the career of William Busfeild Ferrand (1809–89), a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

and one time owner of St. Ives Estate. Coppice Pond was built as a feed water supply for what is thought originally to be a

fulling mill Fulling, also known as felting, tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelled waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven or knitted cloth (particularly wool) to elimin ...

, later landscaped by the Ferrands and used for boating. Today it is stocked with a variety of fish for

angling Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook or "angle" (from Old English ''angol'') attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techni ...

and has a

bird hide A bird hide (blind or bird blind in North America) is a shelter, often camouflaged, that is used to observe wildlife, especially birds, at close quarters. Although hides or hunting blinds were once built chiefly as hunting aids, they are now commo ...

and duck feeding pier. On the north side of the pond is the archery club while east of Coppice Pond is the mill. A mill has been recorded on this site since the early 14th century and it is probably the oldest building on the estate, although modified since then. To the south of Coppice Pond near Cuckoo Nest Cottages is the restored (2003) Baxter's Pond, fed by both Coppice Pond and the mill. East of the mill is Home Farm with its cafe, coach house and stables, and to the rear a Dutch barn^* and car park. Just north of the Dutch barn on Cross Gates Lane opposite an ice house^* by the golf club's clubhouse is a kidney shaped ornamental pond known as Crayfish Pond. This feeds water southwards to the ornamental Round Pond and its non-functioning fountain on St. Ives Mansion garden lawns. The Round Pond feeds the Upper Pond in Cuckoo Nest Wood in which water cascades down a millstone grit crag into a shallow lenticular pool. The Upper Pond and Baxter's Pond both feed the much larger and more easily accessible Lower Pond. St. Ives Mansion House^* iwas formerly a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to i ...

for young disabled and has since been converted into apartments. To the north of the mill has been created an indoor and outdoor equestrian riding centre for use by the disabled and the general public.
;
;
Just east of the mansion house is the children's play area and toilets. To the north of this are the main offices of the

. On the road leading eastwards out of the estate is Betty's Lodge.^* Around the estate and the woods in particular, there is a sculpture trail of

chainsaw carving The art of chainsaw carving is a fast-growing form of art that combines the modern technology of the chainsaw with the ancient art of woodcarving. The beginning of the art form The oldest chainsaw artist records go back to the 1950s, which incl ...

s and these are particularly numerous in Bell Bank Wood by the car park at the east entrance. This car park has space for 56 cars and four horse boxes. There are numerous listed buildings on the estate., , , , , , , , , The golf club was formed and opened in 1931. The course was designed by Dr

Alister MacKenzie Alister MacKenzie (30 August 1870 – 6 January 1934) was a golf course architect whose course designs span four continents. Originally trained as a surgeon, MacKenzie served as a civilian physician with the British Army during the Boer War ...

and Bobby Jones and initially had nine holes, but was extended to 18 in 1935.

References

External links

* Websites
Friends of St. IvesSports Turf Research InstituteBingley St. Ives Golf ClubBingley Angling ClubAire-Valley Archers
* Webpages
Bradford Parks and Landscapes Service
* Leaflets
Around St Ives EstatePonds and Water Gardens of St Ives Estate HardenWalks in Parks and Woodlands
* Images
Flickr
* Maps
City of Bradford Metropolital District CouncilStreetmapWikimapia satellite
* Walks
Bingley Walkers are WelcomeCity of Bradford Metropolitan District CouncilLancashire Evening PostMapmyWALKWalks for AllYorkshire Life
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Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of ...

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Long Lee , North = Riddlesden , Northeast = Crossflatts , West = , Centre = Bingley St. Ives , East =

, Southwest = Harden , South =

Wilsden Wilsden is a village and civil parish in west Bradford, in West Yorkshire, England. Wilsden is west of Bradford and is close to the Aire Valley and the nearby villages of Denholme, Cullingworth, Harden, Cottingley and Allerton. Wilsden re- ...

, Southeast = Cottingley {{City of Bradford Parks and commons in Bradford Country parks in Yorkshire Bingley Grade II listed parks and gardens in West Yorkshire