Caldecott Park is an

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

located in the centre of

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Most of the land was purchased by the Rugby Urban District Council in 1903 from Thomas Caldecott, the last lord of the manor. There was additional land purchased to the north of the original park in 1911, bringing the park to its current size of . In other respects though the park has changed a lot. There used to be an ornamental lake in the centre of the park, but that was filled in 1922. The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

saw the removal of a floral staircase as well as the original iron park railings which were taken away as part of the war effort. The 1970s saw the loss of many of the trees in the park to Dutch Elm Disease. However, in the 1990s there has been a programme of tree replanting. Also in 1996 a series of entertainment events were organised over the summer months. These have continued since and there are also craft fairs, art exhibitions and musical performances on the

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an ornamen ...

. Other attractions include a children's play area,

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

courts, a

bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

and a small

kiosk Historically, a kiosk () was a small garden pavilion open on some or all sides common in Iran, Persia, the Indian subcontinent, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward. Today, several examples of this type of kiosk still exist ...

which sells refreshments. Now, to celebrate Saint Georges Day,

scouts Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

march from Caldecott park to St Andrews Church. In 2006 the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

awarded

Rugby Borough The Borough of Rugby is a local government district with borough status in Warwickshire, England. The borough comprises the town of Rugby where the council has its headquarters, and the rural areas surrounding the town. At the 2021 census the bor ...

Council just under £1,000,000 to restore the park. In November 2007 the final plans had been drawn up and were awaiting final permission to proceed. Plans included: replacing the current fencing with old style fencing like the ones removed in the

; to relay the footpaths; to modernise the play areas; to build a

cafe A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargil ...

; to develop formal sports pitches and to re-create the floral steps and were passed. Work was completed in spring 2009 and the park was officially opened on 2 May with speeches from local dignitaries and displays by locals

schools A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of ...

. /ref> In 2013 Caldecott Park was dedicated as a Fields in Trust, Queen Elizabeth II Field - and protected in perpetuity for public recreation.

References

Urban public parks in the United Kingdom Rugby, Warwickshire Parks and open spaces in Warwickshire {{warwickshire-geo-stub