Canons Park

Canons Park is a public park and the name of its surrounding residential area, in the Edgware district of the London Borough of Harrow, north-west London. Canons Park was a country estate which partially survives today as a public park. St. Lawrence's Church, the parish church of Little Stanmore, and the accompanying Chandos Mausoleum are located here.

Etymology and history

"Canons" refers to the canons or monks of the Augustinian priory of St Bartholomew in Smithfield, London. In mediaeval times the site was a part of the endowment of the Priory of St Bartholomew's which operated St Bartholomew's Hospital in London. Following the dissolution of the monasteries the land was sold in 1543 into private hands. A large house was built there during the 16th and 17th centuries at one time owned by Thomas Lake, James I's Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Canons Park is largely located on the site of the magnificent early 18th-century country house Cannons built between 1713 and 1725 by James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos. A few years after the Duke's death in 1744 this house was also demolished. The current building on the site housing the North London Collegiate School was built around 1760 by the gentleman cabinet-maker William Hallett. The original house-site, transformed into ambitious Edwardian gardens was bought in 1929 by the school for £17,500 (). A large portion of the original gardens of James Brydges' house now form the public pleasure gardens of Canons Park. The modern park includes the Memorial Gardens, a folly known as 'the Temple' (not to be confused with a different folly of the same name within the North London Collegiate School grounds) and an orchard.

Canons Drive follows the original path of the entrance to James Brydges' house, retaining the two large pillars which acted as gateposts where it met the Edgware Road. The remains of a second, raised, carriageway running from Cannons can be traced through Canons Park in the direction of Whitchurch Lane. A lake and a separate duck pond also formed part of the original Cannons Estate and survive within the boundaries of the Canons Drive residential area.

Canons Park

Canons Park, in size, is listed as Grade II on the Register of Parks and Gardens. The designation recognises features surviving from the ducal park (including two lakes, the Basin Lake and the Seven Acre Lake) as well as more recent features. The park contains several listed buildings.

The King George V Memorial Garden is a walled garden in the park. This area was originally part of the duke's kitchen gardens and was re-designed in the 1930s, after the park became public. The garden reflects the 1930s period, with a structure of evergreens highlighted by seasonal displays. It features a central square pool surrounded by a raised terrace with steps, formal flower beds and a pavilion. In 2006-7 the garden and the park were restored with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund.

St Lawrence Whitchurch

Situated adjacent to the public park is the church of St Lawrence Whitchurch, the parish church of Little Stanmore. The church has a stone tower dating from and the main body of the church was rebuilt in a Continental Baroque style in 1714-16 for Brydges by John James (Colvin). The interior walls and ceiling are covered with paintings.

On the north side of the church is the Chandos Mausoleum, again built to the order of the first Duke of Chandos. The centrepiece documented by Grinling Gibbons, 1717, is a Baroque monument to the Duke and his first two wives, for which the Duke felt he had overpaid.Rupert Gunnis, ''Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851'' (rev. ed.): "Grinling Gibbons" In addition to James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos and his first two wives, James Brydges, 3rd Duke of Chandos has also been buried here.

Barnet F.C.

Barnet F.C.'s training ground complex, The Hive, opened in the locality in 2009. The club constructed their new 5,176 capacity home ground at the site, which opened in summer 2013, and is shared with Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women and London Bees.

Services and transport

The area is served by Canons Park tube station of the London Underground. The 79, 186 and 340 buses go past the station.

Housing

Notes

References

St Lawrence Little Stanmore
* Howard Colvin, 1995 (3rd ed.). ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1660-1840.'' (Yale University Press): "John James"
* James Thorne, 1876. ''Handbook to The Environs of London. '' (reprinted 1983 Godfrey Cave Associates)

External links

Friends of Canons Park

Canons Park Estate

{{LB Harrow

Areas of London
Districts of the London Borough of Harrow
Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Harrow
Grade II listed parks and gardens in London