Friary Park is a nine hectare formal Edwardian park in

Friern Barnet Friern Barnet is a suburban area within the London Borough of Barnet, north of Charing Cross. Its centre is formed by the busy intersection of Colney Hatch Lane (running north and south), Woodhouse Road (taking westbound traffic towards North Fi ...

in the

London Borough of Barnet The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban London boroughs, London borough in North London. The borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It forms part of Outer London and is the largest ...

History

The site was home to the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, and of Friern Barnet Manor House from the sixteenth century. The name Friary Park was adopted in the 1870s and it was opened to the public in 1910. In 2010 the Friends of Friary Park and other local societies organised centenary celebrations.

Facilities

It is owned and managed by Barnet Council, and has a children's playground, tennis courts, a bowling green, a pitch and putt, a

skatepark A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, q ...

, outdoor gym equipment and a cafe. It is a

Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI), Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) and regionally important geological site (RIGS) are designations used by local authorities in the United Kingdom for sites of substantive local nature ...

, and has received a

Green Flag Award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...

. The cafe is housed in the nineteenth century

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

Friary House, which is otherwise mostly unused, although Barnet Council announced in 2010 that work is underway to convert it to a base for the local police

Safer Neighbourhood Team A neighbourhood policing team (NPT), also sometimes known as safer neighbourhood team (SNT), is a small team of police officers and police community support officers (usually 3-10 strong) who are dedicated to policing a certain community or ar ...

. A prominent feature is a statue, the 'Bringer of Peace', erected by Sydney Simmons and dedicated to the memory of

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

, and erected on 7 May 1910, the day after his death. Its most interesting features ecologically are ancient oak trees and a small stream called Blacketts Brook, a tributary of

Pymme's Brook Pymmes Brook is located in North London and named after William Pymme, a local land owner. It is a minor tributary of the River Lea. The brook mostly flows through urban areas and is particularly prone to flooding in its lower reaches. To a ...

. There is access from Torrington Park, Friary Road and Friern Barnet Lane. The park has an active friends group.

North Middlesex Golf Course ponds

The North Middlesex Golf Course is adjacent to the park to the north at Grid Ref . Blacketts Brook runs through two ponds on the golf course before entering the park. Palmate newts, which are rare in London, breed in the ponds, which are a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade II. The reserve is not open to the public.

Gallery

File:Statue of Peace, Friary Park, with dove 06.jpg, Statue of Peace File:Friary Park formal garden.JPG, Formal garden File:Friary Park playground and cafe.JPG, Children's playground and cafe File:Friary Park bridge.JPG, Bridge over the small stream File:Friary Park.JPG, Woods File:Friary Park avenue.JPG, Avenue File:North Middlesex Golf Club ponds 2.JPG, Pond on North Middlesex Golf Course

Notes

External links