Hendon Park

Hendon Park is a 12 hectare London suburban park situated 7 miles (11 km) north west of Charing Cross. It borders the Northern line, and Hendon Park and Northern line Railway Cutting are a Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation.[1][2]

Northern Line Railway Cutting
The acer tree with the park's green flag

History

Hendon Park was part of a medieval estate known as the Steps Fields and owned by the Goodyer family. From 1868 till 1903 it was owned by the Kemp family when Hendon Council opened the park to the public.[3]

The borough of Hendon became part of the larger London Borough of Barnet in April 1965. The park has a Holocaust Memorial Garden, which contains a pond, many plants and is enclosed by large hedges. The Children’s Millennium Wood planted in 2000 is a native tree and grassland area, which will provide a good habitat for birds when it matures. The rest of the park is mainly informal parkland, with mown grass and mature trees, especially London plane and lime. It is a good spot for watching pipistrelle bats on a summer evening.[1]

The landscape includes one of the largest specimens of Japanese maple in London and was recognised as one of the Great Trees of London in 2008.[4] Many mature trees survive from the original planting, despite damage caused by the Great Storm of 1987 during which many trees were uprooted and destroyed.

Hendon Park during World War II

"Rout the Rumour", a large propaganda rally was held in Hendon Park on Sunday, 21 July 1940.[5] The rally included songs, music and sketches. It was intended to promote the idea that gossip and rumour harmed the war effort.[6]

The Hendon Park cafe was originally a bomb shelter, and is a single storey, lead lined, solid brick built building under a flat roof.[7]

Bus routes:

  • 83, 113, 143, 186, 326, 643 and 797 all pass nearby

Underground

Green Flag award

The park was awarded the Green Flag Award in 2009-10[3]

See also

Notes
  1. "Hendon Park and Northern line Railway Cutting". Greenspace Information for Greater London. 2006. Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  2. "iGiGL – helping you find London's parks and wildlife sites". Greenspace Information for Greater London. 2006. Archived from the original on 2012-11-29.
  3. "Barnet Online, Hendon Park". Archived from the original on 2010-12-26. Retrieved 2010-11-03.
  4. Hendon Park, London Gardens Online
  5. "Mass-Observation Archive: Topic Collections". University of Sussex. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
  6. Creaton, Heather (1998-12-08). "Sources for the History of London, 1939-1945". British Records Association. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
  7. London Borough of Barnet, To Let, Hendon Park Cafe Archived October 11, 2010, at the Wayback Machine

Further reading
  • Hewlett, Janet (1997). Nature Conservation in Barnet. London Ecology Unit. ISBN 1 871045 27 4.
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