Alexandra Park is a 200-acre (80–hectare), Green Flag Award, and Green Heritage winning, diverse-landscape park,– About
(Retrieved 31 January 2008) in the Borough of Haringey in north

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

adjacent to Hornsey,

Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, London, Highgate, Hampstead Garden ...

and

Wood Green Wood Green is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, London, England. Its postal district is N22, with parts in N8 or N15. The London Plan identifies it as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London, and today it forms ...

. Laid out on the site of

Tottenham Wood Tottenham Wood was part of the Great Forest of Middlesex. It no longer survives, except for a small fragment in the form of Bluebell Wood, London, Bluebell Wood. References

Ancient woods of London {{london-geo-stub ...

and the later Tottenham Wood Farm, the park and palace were named in 1863, the year of the marriage of

Alexandra of Denmark Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, queen-consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 Januar ...

to the Prince of Wales who became King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

. Alexandra Park is split between hilly and flat ground. The tree-lined hill has wide views from slopes and many areas of the relatively large hilltop. Of note is the view from

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is an entertainment and sports venue in North London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. A listed building, Grade II listed building, it is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and th ...

which dominates the park, particularly its Panorama Room. On most days the Crystal Palace Transmitter and/or the

North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Areas of Outstanding Natural Be ...

in Surrey are visible. From 1936 to 1981, the BBC transmitted TV programmes from a tall mast built onto one of the towers of the palace. In 1980, most of the palace was gutted by a huge fire. The building has since been restored and is now a conference and exhibition centre.

History

The Alexandra Park and Palace (Public Purposes) Act 1900 ( 63 & 64 Vict. c. cclix) changed the status of the park from private ownership to a public trust. The first company was set up in the 1850s to build an educational, recreation and events venue to rival south London's Crystal Palace which took the main structure of the

Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...

, 1851 from

Hyde Park, London Hyde Park is a , historic Listed building#Heritage protection, Grade I-listed urban park in Westminster, Greater London. A Royal Parks of London, Royal Park, it is the largest of the parks and green spaces that form a chain from Kensington P ...

. The act created the Alexandra Palace and Park Trust, by which the trustees were bound to maintain the palace and park and make them available for the free use and recreation of the public forever. Until September 1970, the park hosted horse racing, including many evening meetings that were televised by the BBC. The Alexandra Park Racecourse on the plain below the palace was nicknamed "the Frying Pan" owing to its shape, featuring an ornate Victorian grandstand and cast-iron railings. For eight decades the whole venue had up to three stations, one of which was a tram station, to enable more visitors – for more details see Alexandra Palace railway station (1873–1954). Its most prestigious race was the London Cup. Alexandra Park Cricket Club and Football Club occupy most of the former site, sporting facilities for the local community. A medium-sized lake attracts a variety of waterfowl in all seasons, and used to have a large enclosure housing a small herd of

fallow deer Fallow deer is the common name for species of deer in the genus ''Dama'' of subfamily Cervinae. There are two living species, the European fallow deer (''Dama dama''), native to Europe and Anatolia, and the Persian fallow deer (''Dama mesopotamic ...

. The deer were moved to Devon in early 2016. The park was declared a local nature reserve in 2013, and is also a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade 1.

Events

The Park hosts a variety of events throughout the year; food, craft and beer festivals, a summer festival, a fireworks festival in November and a weekly

Parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of 5K run, events for runners, walkers and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across five continents. Parkrun was founded by Paul Sinto ...

each Saturday morning. The ''Friends of Alexandra Park'' organise walks, such as fungi, tree, wild flower, history and bat. At the foot of Muswell Hill, the park is host to a farmers market most weeks.

Access

Three means of access exist: *the frequent W3 bus (connections at

and

Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in Harringay, north London, England. The park lies on the southern-most edge of the London Borough of Haringey. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal ...

tube stations) *a relatively brisk 8–10 minutes walk uphill from Alexandra Palace railway station *Car/motorbike/cycle parking, with motor parking limited by reservation for events

Alexandra Park neighbourhood

The area directly north of the park is usually known locally as Alexandra Park, although technically it is just a locality of Wood Green, and part of the N22 postcode which derives from Wood Green. Like many London neighbourhoods, its precise boundaries are vague. It can be approximately bounded by the North Circular Road to the north, the Great Northern Railway line to the east, the park to the south and the medieval to 19th century hedge and ditch between the south of Rosebery Road and St Regis Close/Muswell Avenue followed by a clearer road with footpath, Alexandra Road. The large neighbourhood's identity has been reinforced by its local website and Alexandra Park Library.http://alexandraparkneighbours.org.uk/ Alexandra Park neighbourhood It has a secondary school, Alexandra Park School and a primary school, Rhodes Avenue Primary School, which stands on the site of Tottenham Wood House which had a large farming estate and gardens. Since the demolition of the house and the naming of the neighbourhood's roads omitting Wood, Green or Tottenham, the remaining connections are a shared station in the east and shared postcode.

Notes

External links