FOR those hoping for a weekend of ice-skating, January 1933 did not disappoint as a cold east wind brought the district’s ice-skaters to Rowntree Park in droves.
As the winter sport of ice-skating grew in popularity, so did the role of the park’s superintendent, who was officially in charge of declaring when the lake was suitable for skaters depending on the thickness of the lake’s ice.
During the fifties and sixties, York’s Ice Skating Club gathered funds to make the most of the precious winter hours available on the lake by purchasing a selection of gramophone records and scrapers to help clear the ice. Floodlighting was also erected during the sixties to help with the dark nights.
During the winter of 1894-95, before the days of skating in Rowntree Park, fun-seekers took to showing off their skating skills on the River Ouse after it had frozen over from December 27 until March.
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