Purchase of Bailey Hill

(auction)

In May 1870 Bailey Hill was advertised as being offered for sale by auction, at the time it was in the possession of the Mostyn family who had substantial land holdings in North Wales and had bought the hill for £15,000 in 1809. At the time the Mostyn family were in financial difficulties and Lady Henrietta Augusta Mostyn needed to sell hand to alleviate these problems. The proposed sale raised concerns in the town that it might fall into the hands of private owners who would possibly sell off the trees for timber and destroy the hill by extracting its sand deposits. There was also an additional concern that the Hill would no longer be available for public events.

Whilst expressing concern the Mold Local Board, the precursor of the Town Council declined to consider purchasing the hill as it was not felt that to be an appropriate use of public funds. It therefore fell upon a group of local business men to form a committee to raise monies by subscription to buy Bailey Hill for the benefit of the townspeople. The meetings were held at The Black Lion public house inn under the initial chairmanship of Joel Williams who coincidently was also the chairman of the Local Board. Lady Mostyn was approached by the Committee to withdraw the hill from the auction and consider selling it to them. Negotiations were opened with Lady Mostyn’s representatives and a purchase figure of £400, the equivalent to £48,000 in today’s money, was agreed which was well below the market price Bailey Hill could have achieved by auction. Through the efforts of the local community and the generosity of The Marquis of Grosvenor, who despite having no connection to Mold (other than being the brother of local MP Lord Richard Grosvenor), donated £100 to the cause, the amount was raised and in early June the hill was purchased by the Bailey Hill Committee.

Over the next 6 months regular discussions were held in Mold to decide which organisation was to own and maintain the hill going forward. Eventually after a close vote it was agreed that the Hill should be vested in the name of the Local Board and on the 9th March 1871 the formal conveyance was signed.

Although they were now the owners of the hill, the Board remained adamant that no public funds should be used for its maintenance. The public subscription had raised more than the £400 used to purchase the hill but further monies were required to fund the improvements envisaged for the area. The proposed developments included the establishment of a croquets lawn, a tennis court, a quioting ground, a gymnasium and a camera obscura to be built on the top of the motte, not all these ideas came to fruition. Some immediate improvements were made including repairs to the surrounding wall and a new set of railings around the bowling green, during the excavations for which several human remains were found.

In April 1871 the Local Board agreed to write to Edward Kemp, with a view to engaging him to design the park. Edward Kemp was a renowned landscape gardener, responsible for the landscaping and design of Grosvenor Park, Chester, and developing Birkenhead Park from Joseph Paxton’s designs. Whilst Kemp was subsequently engaged at a cost of 3 guineas per day, his appointment was not met with universal approval. Joel Williams, the Board Chairman, was quoted as saying that he thought they would be throwing money away. Kemp visited Bailey Hill and in September his report was produced and widely publicised in the local papers, unfortunately the accompanying plan provided to the Board has been lost. Kemp’s report suggested the removal of some trees, adjustments to paths, installation of seats and a comprehensive list of recommended plants to be planted in the park. His design, unlike the present developments on Bailey Hill, was not intended to be implemented immediately but to be adopted as and when funds were available. Certain plants recommended in his report can still be identified on the hill but without sight of his plan we cannot be sure of how much of his influence on the layout of the park today is present.

In 1873 plans were discussed at the Board meetings to reopen past excavations on the hill and sell sand to raise funds for further improvements. This led to protests in the town and fortunately the proposal which could have seriously disfigured the park was defeated.

In 1894, the Local Board was superceded by Mold Urban District Council and ownership was transferred to the new body under its first Chairman Daniel Owen.