Park linked to first environment protest turns 100
May 14, 2025
Park linked to first environment protest turns 100
Paul HarrisA park believed to have sparked the first written environmental protest in England is celebrating 100 years since it was donated to the community.
Crow Park in Keswick was given to the National Trust by owners Sir John and Lady Randles “to look after on behalf of the nation” in 1925.
A plaque designating the Lake District as a UNESCO World Heritage Site was placed there in 2018.
The park had been covered in oak woodland until the mid 1700s, when the then owners felled the trees to raise income for the Greenwich Hospital for injured soldiers, sparking objections from locals.
They included a mention from poet Thomas Gray in 1769 in his Journal of A Visit to the Lake District.
He said: “I walked to Crow Park, now a rough pasture, once a glade of ancient oaks, whose large roots still remain on the ground, but nothing has sprung from them.
“If one single tree had remained this would have been an unparalleled spot.”
Anniversary event
The National Trust believed this to be the first written record of an environmental protest and a key moment in the development of the Picturesque movement.
The movement saw poets such as William Wordsworth and John Ruskin take part in the debate around public access to open spaces, which inspired Cumbrian vicar Hardwicke Rawnsley to co-found of the National Trust.
To mark the 100-year milestone of Crow Park being donated to the charity, they are holding a two-day event, with acrobatic performances on 16.4ft (5m) swings and a chance for people to try them.
Jessie Binns, Senior Programming and Partnerships Officer at the National Trust said: “With its historical significance and easy access to an iconic Lake District view, we are proud to continue to care for this special place while improving access so that everyone can enjoy nature, beauty and history here for generations.”
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