Maya Bewley There’s one thing that most of our alumni will remember from their time at York. And that’s the lake. Deemed ‘the largest plastic bottomed lake in Europe’, it’s one of campus’ best features aside from the ducks, of course.
Over the years countless York students have walked around, boated across, and even ice-skated over its waters (although we’ll ignore the health and safety implications of that). But how did it actually get there in the first place? We’ve trawled through the archives to do a deep dive into the history of this iconic feature.
The early days
In 1962, plans were hatched to design the campus landscape by architects Andrew Derbyshire and Maurice Lee. Aside from Heslington Hall, the land on what we now call campus was pretty much a clean slate. There were endless possibilities, as Andrew puts it in a retrospective:
“We felt like explorers in an unknown land. There was no precedent – such a thing had never been done before”
While the architects were busy dreaming up buildings like Central Hall, they realised a major problem: that the site would basically become a swamp if they were to build on it.
“We had a waterlogged site which would have to be drained if we were to avoid a building site like the Somme…
The only way to prevent this was to hold the water back in a balancing reservoir.”
“A concrete tank would have done, but for a very few extra pounds we could use a lake instead.”
Of course, what’s more exciting than a swamp drainage system? A lake! At the time, money for things like this came from the University Grants Committee, part of the government. So they wrote to the committee, and the committee responded:
“It looks as though we have to allow each of the new universities its own special folly. Essex has its elevated pedestrian deck, York shall have its lake.”
And construction began. Covering a whopping 14 acres of land, the team set about lining the lake with polythene sheeting, resulting in the prestigious title of being the ‘largest plastic-bottomed lake in Europe’. According to local newspaper reports, over 300,000 tonnes of soil was excavated to make way for the lake and its surrounding buildings.
Going deeper
You might think the rest is history. But we’ve skipped a key element here! That’s because the University was built on the grounds of Heslington Hall, which has its own aquatic past.
Way back in the early 19th century, Heslington Hall had its own small lake, which was used as both a fishing pond and a boating lake – which became part of the lake next to Derwent college when the University was built.
That’s not where the story ends. According to local legend, there was also a rectangular canal in front of the Quiet Place in the style of the fashionable ‘Dutch Garden’, which was filled in at some point in the 1800s, and later used as a bowling green. Then in the Edwardian times, an ornamental pool boasting a statue of Hermes sat right next to the topiary. Very fancy.
Over the years
Aside from the lake’s tumultuous construction, and the secret history behind it, we’d be amiss not to talk about all the fun ways students have enjoyed the lake over the years. Back in the early years of the University, alumni might remember ice skating over a frozen lake during winter (we have the photos to prove it!).
You might also remember the tiered steps surrounding the lake’s edges. These originally provided easy access to the lake for various watersports, although that has changed in the past decade. Take a look at the photos we’ve dug out below!
Ducks, Geese, and more
Dodging scary geese has practically become a York tradition at this point. But did you know that since the lake has been constructed, it’s now home to over 77 species of bird? Take a trip back to campus and you might spot Great Crested Grebes, Pochards, Oystercatchers, Coots and more. If you’re keen to reminisce about all the popular campus ducks that have made a splash over the years, check out our blog post.
That just about rounds up our deep dive into the Campus West lake, but there’s more to come on the legends behind iconic campus features. Stay tuned, and if this article brought back memories, why not share them with other alumni in the comments?
A special thanks to the Borthwick Archives, Historic England and Fishergate, Fulford & Heslington Local History Society.
Two things to mention about the Lake: The ducks were first introduced by Roger Ackerley, a mature student in the 1964 intake who was a keen ornithologist, in 1965, with some support from John West-Taylor the University Registrar. The original Heslington Hall ornamental lake was drained before it was joined with the new plastic bottomed lake, but not completely. When the new lake was stocked with fish it was found that they were disappearing, the explanation being pike which had survived in the mud of the old lake and had a feast when able to swim into the new one.
I remember the huge Canada Geese up between Vanbrugh and the music department. They were quite intimidating at times!