British, 1858 - 1938
born 1858 in Wetherby
From http://www.musicalhome.com/ParkFamilyHistory.html
"JAMES CHALMERS PARK - my Grandfather, the "Old Jolyon" of our family was born after his father's death at the old Powell family home in Wetherby where Sarah always returned to have her children, and followed his brother John to Crossley & Porters Grammar School. He then went to Leeds Art School where he was advised, as a talented student but without family money to support him until he could make his name, to finance his real interests with commercial art. His ability showed itself first in bird paintings, exhibited at many galleries. Later, as a member of the Society of Miniature Painters, the 6th JCP earned a fine reputation, but his name is best known for his etchings of buildings since these were exhibited in most of the Northern art galleries.
JCP was also a keen singer with the Leeds Choral Union of which he was a founder member, and the Leeds Philharmonic where he was for a time the youngest Committee member. An original testimonial for him written by a Mayor of Leeds who was also a member of the Philharmonic Choir reads:
"Energetic, active, would keep a number of things going at once. Enterprising, a good businessman and of an inventive turn of mind. He is clever with a pencil and would design well, would show a great deal of originality in this respect. He is honourable, straightforward, a man of his word and only speaks when he has something to say. Systematic, thorough, good business capabilities, will always pay great attention to detail. Some depth of feeling, only rarely demonstrative, very faithful in his attachments. Has great presence of mind, deliberate in action, would do many a kind act and say nothing about it, and an even temper". E. K. M.
This is dated 26/2/1891, some 18 months before he married Sarah Eliza Buckle, an infant teacher from Headingley who had trained at Lincoln College. Sarah had a deep Contralto voice and had joined the Leeds Philharmonic Choir, then conducted by Mr. Arthur Sullivan whose greater fame lay elsewhere. JCP had joined the Philharmonic when it had been invited to prepare for one of only two English performances of the recently composed Verdi Requiem (the other being by the Royal Choral Society in the Royal Albert Hall). JCP came from a family of brothers, she from one of sisters, but it was a marriage as happy as that of his father, whom he had never known and his mother, also Sarah, who had died in 1882. They married on 6/9/92 when he was 33 years, 10 months - almost exactly the age that his own father had died - and 11 months later to the day they had twins the 7th JCP and John Francis (Jack) named after the brother with whom he had been brought up. Sylvia Katherine (Kitty) was born on 15/1/97 and Harold Kenneth (Billy) on 26/4/98.
Work as an artist took JCP to London where the family lived in Hendon shortly before the First World War, not far from the Welsh Harp Reservoir where I have been racing sailing dinghies since 1963. Book illustrations for Longmans and the design of fireplaces took up much of his professional time with a wife and 4 children to support, but there are also etchings of Hampstead Heath. Probably more London etchings were made but sold at the time.
This, however, was only a short episode in his life for most of the etchings were done in Yorkshire, either in his Belmont Grove house in Leeds within walking distance of the famous Town Hall where the Philharmonic concerts took place, or Scarborough, where he had a studio on the Foreshore. The etching of Scarborough Castle may have been done from the studio window (the angle is right) but the studio was destroyed at the opening of the First World War when, on December 16th 1914, German battleships shelled the Scarborough Foreshore (and later Whitby and Hartlepool) in retaliation for a naval defeat in the Falkland Islands. The shelling of non-military targets was in breach of the Hague Convention, but the Germans just
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