Roberts Park, Saltaire

Roberts Park is a 14acre public urban park in Baildon, West Yorkshire, England. Higher Coach Road, Baildon, is to the north and the park is bounded to the south by the River Aire. A pedestrian footbridge crosses the Aire and links the park to the village of Saltaire. The park is an integral part of the Saltaire World Heritage site.The park is grade II listed in English Heritage's Register of Parks and Gardens and is a Green Flag Award winner. Visitor numbers are estimated to be up to 3,000 people per day.HistoryThe park was designed and laid out by William Gay (1814–1893) for Sir Titus Salt (1803–1876) and was opened on 25 July 1871 by Sir Titus, although conceived of as early as 1850. The park was named Saltaire Park but was known informally as The People's Park, and Salt's Park. The development included a widening and deepening of the River Aire for boating and swimming purposes, and for the construction of a boathouse on the southern bank of the river. In the centre of the park is a semi-circular pavilion designed by architects Lockwood and Mawson, constructed in 1870.In 1891 the park was purchased by (Sir) James Roberts (1848–1935). In 1903 to commemorate the fifty years Salts Mill had been operating and the centenary of his birth, a bronze statue of Sir Titus Salt was erected by the main promenade. The statue was by Francis Derwent Wood R.A. (1871–1926) of Chelsea for (Sir) James Roberts.