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Past owner Alexander Meek who lived at Hillworth in the 1890s

DEVIZES' hidden gem, Hillworth Park, is about to undergo a transformation if the town council can get Lottery funding for its plans.

The council has owned the park since just after the Second World War, when housing was scarce and a large segment of the estate was needed for residential development.

Although Queen's Road was built on part of the estate and Hillworth Road extended, it still left a five-acre swathe of recreational land around Hillworth House itself, perfect for a municipal park.

Although the origins of Hillworth House and its estate are uncertain, it was certainly established before 1737, according to local historian Dr Lorna Haycock.

The present Hillworth House is thought to date from 1832, when the then owner Thomas Hall had it moved and rebuilt 100 yards to the west, it is thought to avoid the line of a planned railway.

In 1841 Alexander Meek bought the house. He was a man of some standing in the town, a banker, county treasurer, town clerk and solicitor. He remodelled the house. It remained in the family until 1923. The grounds were sometimes used for concerts during hospital weeks as the Meeks were great supporters of the Cottage Hospital.

In addition to Hillworth House, there were 27 acres of ground, a Queen Anne pavilion (which probably dates from the reign of George II) and a Quaker burial ground which dates from at least the 18th century.

In 1945 the house was divided into four apartments and rented out by the town council. The substantial Victorian orangery, or conservatory, was open to the public until 1975.

The Queen Anne pavilion

The previous year, Kennet District Council was created in the local government reorganisation. The district council took over the house and the town council held on to the park.

During the 1980s the apartments were sold under the Conservative Government's policy of selling off council houses.

Changes to the park have not always met with the approval of residents. The western section of the park has long been separated from the rest by a hedge and many local people are unaware that the park extends beyond it.

In 1998, the town council, under pressure to find a space where young skateboarders could practise their skills, set up a skate park on the other side of the hedge.

But the skate park became the centre of late-night noise and vandalism and Bill Richardson, then a resident of Hillworth House, took the town council to court and won his case.

The skate park was dismantled and the skateboard equipment has been mothballed ever since.

The town council's plans now involve removing the hedge and building an earth embankment, which has been dubbed the new Devizes Castle, on the site of the form. It is planned to lay new paths and encourage youngsters to cycle along them.

As well as improvements in the existing play areas for young children, there will be climbing rocks, an aerial runway or slide and a youth shelter for older children.

1:34pm Thursday 7th February 2008

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