You may have previously seen the image of a plate presented to the schoolchildren of St Mary’s, a memento of their summer outing on 17 August 1907. I remember narrowly missing out on buying one several years ago, and have not seen one for sale since. But some of you may be lucky enough to own one.
But what summer outing was it a memento of? And did your ancestors help organise it?
Read on to find out.
A Plate Presented to St Mary’s School Children in 1907 – With thanks to Shaun Camponi
The outing took the organising committee, the Catholic Children’s Treats Committee, four months of hard work to arrange. Its President was the parish priest, the Rev. John Joseph Lea. The vice-president was Colin Darwin. The other committee members were Messrs. M. Rush, P. Judge, A. Brown, M. Cairns, P. Colleran, W. Dillon, C. King, J. T. Lynch, T. Enright, C. Gannon, J. Buckley, M. McHale, T. Gavaghan, and T. McGuire. The treasurer was Mr. J. Rodgers (of the West End Hotel), the financial secretary Mr. T. Murphy, minute secretary Mr. D. Tarmey, and correspondence secretary Mr. J. Brennan.
Their hard work paid off. At 1 o’clock on Saturday 17 August 1907, watched by their parents, 400 St Mary’s children, along with six nuns, six teachers and the committee men’s wives, assembled to board the 12 wagonettes which were lined up near the school buildings. To assist with the organisation of such a large group of children, they were divided into sections, and each child wore a badge specific to his or her section.
The boarding was successfully and swiftly completed given the numbers. The wagonette procession set off at 1.30pm, and as they passed the West End Hotel, three cheers rang out for Mr. and Mrs. Rodgers who had worked so hard to make the treat a success. The couple got into their trap and joined in the joyous procession.
Their destination was Roundhay Park, three miles to the north of Leeds.
The park’s history dated from the 13th century, when it was a medieval royal hunting ground for the pursuit of deer and other game, in 1803 two Leeds-born Quakers, Samuel Elam and Thomas Nicholson, bought the 1,300 acres. The estate was divided, with Elam taking the southern 600 acres to develop it into a residential area. Nicholson took the remainder, employing landscapers to redesign it into a private park.
The Greek revival-style Mansion was built as his home (Nicholson moved into it in 1819, living there for only two years before his death, after which – having no children – the park passed to his half-brother). Waterloo veterans constructed the lake which, as a result, was unimaginatively known as The Waterloo Lake. The smaller Upper Lake was built, along with a castle folly. The Canal Garden had a smaller pond, fed from a stream near the Mansion.
A family dispute which came to a head in 1871 finally led to the park’s sale. The Sale Particulars described it as ‘ the most charming suburb of Leeds, presenting a magnificent landscape unsullied by the smoke of the town, broken by hill and dale, adorned by rich Plantations and fine Parks, and studded with Gentlemen’s Seats and Homesteads, which, meeting the eye at every turn, afford an amount of enjoyment seldom associated with so close a proximity to Leeds.’
Leeds Corporation, headed by Mayor Sir John Barran, controversially moved to buy the park for public use – controversial because many wealthy Roundhay residents were opposed to hoardes or working-class people descending on the park and their affluent residential area. Other concerns focused around its distance from Leeds city centre, and the poor transport links to it, with fears it would be a white elephant and total waste of money.
On 19 September 1872, amidst great celebrations, the park officially opened to the public, the opening ceremony being performed by Prince Arthur, the third son of Queen Victoria. Amenities were added as the park developed to serve the leisure desires of the Victorian public. These included bandstands, summer houses, refreshment rooms, a sports arena surrounded by a cycle track, pathways and formal flower beds.
In 1891 a tramway opened, which successfully addressed the transport issues from Leeds, and in the next five years over four million passengers travelled by electric tram to Roundhay. An extension was built, and on 29 July 1897 the new Kirkstall – Roundhay Electric Tramway opened. The park was now easily accessible, and the numbers thronging to it boomed.
A pleasure steamer was launched in 1899 to sail the lake waters, and a new boathouse was added in 1902. A bathing pool was constructed, opening just two months before the St. Mary’s children’s day trip.
The children, from soot-filled Batley with its unhealthy heavy smogs generated by the myriad of mills, and packed with its crammed back-to- back houses in which many of them lived, must have been wide-eyed and mesmerised by this beautiful green, clean open space: a veritable pleasure-ground, with gorgeous scenery, huge expanses of water, space to play and all in the freshest of air.
On their arrival at the park, tea was served. Sports events followed, with masses of prizes for the excited participating children. Some of those not taking part in sports played games. Others were taken to the lake.
Time flew by, and all too soon the wagonettes arrived to take the children back to Batley.
The journey home was accompanied by their excited shouting, and enthusiastic singing, which they maintained for the entire homewards journey. As they reached Batley’s Branch Road, they gave a rendition of “God save Ireland”.
Back at Cross Bank, they marched into school. The day was rounded off with a few words from three of the organisers – Messrs. Darwin, Tarmey and Brennan. The children sang “Hail Glorious St Patrick”, and the enjoyable day ended with another rendition of “God save Ireland”.
The day was declared an outstanding success, and arrangements were made to present every child who attended with a special commemorative plate, as a reminder of their happy day.
And why was this such a momentous occasion, deserving a quite impressive commemorative gift? Well, it was the first ever annual outing away from the parish area for the Catholic children of St Mary’s.
Addendum: I’m thrilled that I now have a plate given to one of the children on this trip. It is such a generous gift which I will always treasure, and I am proud to be the custodian of such a precious part of St Mary’s history. I have arranged that, after me, it will be handed over to the school.
Past To Present Genealogy 