Grovelands Park
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Grovelands Park is a public park in
Southgate SouthGate is a shopping centre in Bath, Somerset, England, It is home to over fifty shops, ten restaurants, 99 homes and an 860-space underground car park. It replaced a shopping centre which was demolished in 2007. The new centre developed b ...
and
Winchmore Hill Winchmore Hill is a suburb and electoral ward in the London Borough of Enfield, north London, England, in the N postcode area, N21 postal district. The Winchmore Hill conservation area serves as the focal point of the district. Geographically, ...
,
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 ...
, that originated as a private estate. The park is Grade II* listed on the
Register of Historic Parks and Gardens #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England {{R from move ...
{{R from move ...
. Grovelands, the house on the western side of the park, is
Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
on the
National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...
.


History

The mansion, which was initially called 'Southgate Grove', was built in 1797–98 to the designs of John Nash for Walker Gray, a
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
brewer. The grounds were landscaped by
Humphry Repton Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great designer of the classic phase of the English landscape garden, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown. His style is thought of as the precursor of the more intric ...
. In 1816 the building was described as being "a regular building of
Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic classical order, orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric order, Doric and the Corinthian order, Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan order, Tuscan (a plainer Doric) ...
, and presents a fine example of that beautiful style".
Lucinda Lambton Lady Lucinda Lambton (born 10 May 1943), also known as Lady Lucinda Worsthorne, is an English writer, photographer, and broadcaster on architectural subjects. Early life Lucinda Lambton was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, the eldest child of the C ...
has called the building an "idiosyncratically flounced, classical villa", and mentions that the owner bought much of the parkland to avoid the sight of other people's chimneys. She goes on to describe the interior: "Inside, there survives one of the most delicate delights in all London: Nash's octagonal dining-room, painted as if you are in a bamboo birdcage, looking out through the bars at the fields, woods and sky." After Gray's death the property was acquired by John Donnithorne Taylor (connected to the
Taylor Walker & Co Taylor Walker was a large English brewery. History Taylor Walker & Co was founded in 1730 in Stepney as Salmon and Hare, and later became Hare and Hartford. In 1796 John Taylor acquired Hare's share, and the company took the name Taylor Walker i ...
Brewery), whose family continued to live at Grovelands up to the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Part of the estate was purchased by the
Municipal Borough of Southgate Southgate was a local government district of Middlesex from 1881 to 1965. It was part of the London postal district and Metropolitan Police District. Incorporation and development The area was historically part of the parish of Edmonton, which ...
in 1913 to become a public park. The house is part of the
Priory Hospital The Priory Hospital, Roehampton, often referred to as The Priory, is a private mental health hospital in South West London. It was founded in 1872 and is part of the Priory Group. The Priory has an international reputation and, because of the ...
Group. In 1998, General
Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...
was held under
house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...
initially in Grovelands House while a patient at the Priory Hospital.


Listed and at risk

Grovelands Park was designated
Grade II* Listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
in October 1987, and has been on
Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...
's ''
Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...
'' since 2009. Historic England describe the park as highly vulnerable with "significant localised problems" and the trend of further decline. They believe the issues are caused due to the fragmented management of the park due to the number of landowners. A "historic environment assessment" commissioned by the
Enfield London Borough Council Enfield London Borough Council, which styles itself Enfield Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Enfield in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour Party ...
in 2008, provided priorities and guidelines for landowners when carrying out "repairs and restoration".


Planned development

In 2013 Enfield Council revealed several concepts to improve the park, including refurbishing existing sports facilities, opening up disused land owned by
Thames Water Thames Water Utilities Limited, trading as Thames Water, is a British private utility company responsible for the water supply and waste water Wastewater (or waste water) is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking w ...
, and the provision of a new primary school.Grovelands park – Proposal for Refurbishment and New School at Grovelands Park – Enfield Council
 Enfield Council reassured residents that the park they currently have access to will not be built on or reduced in size. The council has stated that: "Options include locating the new school in the area near to existing tennis courts whilst restoring and extending the existing tennis provision which may involve an artificial turfed surface."


Flora and fauna

The terrapins in the lake were believed to be the descendants of discarded pets that were able to survive and breed. Feral terrapins are a recurring problem in many London waterways.


Recreation

The park is home to a
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 ...
.


References


External links


Grovelands Park
on the VisitWoods website

{{Parks and open spaces in London Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Enfield Gardens by Thomas Hayton Mawson Gardens by Humphry Repton Grade I listed buildings in the London Borough of Enfield Grade I listed houses in London Grade II* listed parks and gardens in London Houses in the London Borough of Enfield Country houses in London John Nash (architect) buildings Southgate, London Regency architecture in London Middlesex History of Middlesex