Northwick Park is a large green

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to r ...

between Harrow and Kenton in north-west

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, forming part of the

London Borough of Brent The London Borough of Brent () is a London borough in north-west London. It borders the boroughs of Harrow to the north-west, Barnet to the north-east, Camden to the east, the City of Westminster to the south-east, as well as the Royal Borou ...

. Most of the park consists of playing fields. It is also the name of the

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to ...

of Brent that covers the park, the area around its namesake station, and most of North Wembley. The park was originally an estate as part of Sheepcote Farm in the manor of Harrow, and named after its lord, Northwick. The

Middlesex County Council Middlesex County Council was the principal local government body in the administrative county of Middlesex from 1889 to 1965. The county council was created by the Local Government Act 1888, which also removed the most populous part of the c ...

acquired 192 acres of land in the 1930s to plant trees and create a landscape to the existing hedges. The amount of public open space has since diminished, partly due to the building of

Northwick Park Hospital Northwick Park Hospital (NWPH) is a major National Health Service hospital situated near the town of Harrow, North West London, managed by the London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust. It is located off Watford Road in the London Borou ...

, a major NHS hospital. Later in 2006, a major privately owned

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

called Playgolf Northwick Park was opened, which has been voted number one 9-hole golf course in the UK in 2009 by National Golfers Magazine. Until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, there was a previous golf course there at the land now covered by the Harrow campus of the

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first polytechnic to open in London. The Polytechnic formally received a Royal charter in Aug ...

. From 1987 to 1991, there were proposals to change local authority borders which included transferring Northwick Park to the

London Borough of Harrow The London Borough of Harrow () is a London borough in northwest London, England; it forms part of Outer London. It borders four other London boroughs Barnet to the east of ancient Watling Street (now the A5 road), Brent to the southeast, Ea ...

, which was objected to by Brent London Borough Council. The proposals were eventually rejected. Today, Northwick Park includes nine standard pitches, three

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

pitches, two

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

pitches, two flying areas and eight

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

areas. The park also consists of a 1,133 square metre

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

- a single storey brick building constructed circa 1950 with a hall, ancillary area for sports, and dedicated car park. The pavilion has also been hired for filming. To the west of Northwick Park, across Watford Road, is the

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (sc ...

Playing Fields.

Gallery

Northwick Park, Trees and football pitches - geograph.org.uk - 1736309.jpg, Trees and football pitches in Northwick Park Tube train near Northwick Park station - geograph.org.uk - 1570178.jpg,

Metropolitan line The Metropolitan line, colloquially known as the Met, is a London Underground line between in the City of London and and in Buckinghamshire, with branches to in Hertfordshire and in Hillingdon. Printed in magenta on the tube map, the lin ...

train riding to the north of the park Minigolf at Northwick Park - geograph.org.uk - 651869.jpg, Inside the golf course Northwick Park driving range.jpg,

Driving range A driving range is a facility or area where golfers can practice their golf swing. It can also be a recreational activity itself for amateur golfers or when enough time for a full game is not available. Many golf courses have a driving range att ...

of the golf course Northwick Park.jpg, Northwick Park Northwick Park open space and hospital.jpg, Northwick Park Hospital as seen from Northwick Park

References

Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Brent {{london-stub