26-05-2025
A Keswick park part of a historic environmental protest celebrates 100 years with the National Trust
A Cumbrian park that is considered to have been at the heart of one of the first environmental protests in England is celebrating 100 years since it was gifted to the community.
Crow Park, in Keswick, was handed over to the National Trust by owners Sir John and Lady Radnles "to look after on behalf of the nation" in 1925.
A plaque naming the Lake District as a UNESCO World Heritage Site was placed there in 2018.
A two-day event is now taking place to mark 100 years since its donation to the charity, providing a space for people to celebrate the park through taking part in interactive activities.
The charity says the park was involved in the first written environmental protest in England. In the mid 1700s, local residents were against plans to cut its trees to raise money for injured soldiers at the Greenwich Hospital.
They included a mention from poet Thomas Gray in his Journal of A Visit to the Lake District in 1769.
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."
World famous poets such as William Wordsworth and John Ruskin also stepped up in the debate around public access to open spaces, inspiring Cumbrian vicar Hardwicke Rawnsley to co-found the National Trust in 1895.
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."
'Crow Park is the perfect place for locals and visitors alike to spend a quiet moment in beautiful surroundings without having to venture too far from town."
The celebration marks the historic effort to protect public access to lakeshore in the Lake District, which was under threat at the time.
