Pymmes Park is located in

Edmonton, London Edmonton is a town in north London, England within the London Borough of Enfield, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London. The northern part of the town is known as Lower Edmonton or Edmonton Green, and the southern ...

and is bordered by the

North Circular Road The North Circular Road (officially the A406 and sometimes known as simply the North Circular) is a ring road around Central London. It runs from Chiswick in the west to North Woolwich in the east via suburban north London, connecting var ...

. The park is

Metropolitan Open Land "Metropolitan Open Land" or "MOL" is a term or designation used only within London. Land designated MOL is afforded the same level of protection as the Metropolitan Green Belt. Designation is intended to protect areas of landscape, recreation, natu ...

, of local importance for nature conservation, and a site of archaeological importance.

History

The area known as Pymmes Park dates back to 1327 when William Pymme built Pymmes House there."Historic buildings: Upper Edmonton"
by Stephen Gilburt in ''Enfield Society News'', No. 206 (Summer 2017), pp. 6-7. The estate changed hands several times. Thomas Wilson, a

statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

, bought the estate in 1579. An inventory made after his death in 1581, and transcribed and published in 1957, includes the furnishings of his house at Pymmes. In 1582

William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598), was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Elizabeth I, Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (England), Secretary of State (1550–1553 and ...

Lord High Treasurer The Lord High Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in England, below the Lord H ...

, purchased the estate which remained in the family until 1801. The Ray family owned the estate from 1808 to 1899. It was then purchased by the local council to provide public open space following an increase in the local population. The park was opened to the public in 1906.

Gardens

The park contains a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

walled garden A walled garden is a garden enclosed by high walls, especially when this is done for horticultural rather than security purposes, although originally all gardens may have been enclosed for protection from animal or human intruders. In temperate c ...

, bounded on three sides by

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, Hi ...

walls, containing an ornamental pond,

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

borders and

bedding Bedding, also called bedclothes or bed linen, is the materials laid above the mattress of a bed for hygiene, warmth, protection of the mattress, and decorative effect. Bedding is the removable and washable portion of a human sleeping environment ...

plants. Access is on request to a member of the park's staff.

Recent history

In recent years, the park has undergone major changes due mainly to the widening of the North Circular Road in the 1990s. An application to the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

was successful and £2.8 million was granted for the restoration of the Victorian parkland in a scheme known as the Pymmes Park restoration project. Pymmes Park lake has suffered from severe pollution for many years. In 2014, the

London Borough of Enfield The London Borough of Enfield () is a London boroughs, London borough in Greater London, England. The main communities in the borough are Edmonton, London, Edmonton, Enfield, London, Enfield, Southgate, London, Southgate and Palmers Green. Enfi ...

announced plans to create a

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

covering to improve the quality of the water entering the lake.London Borough of Enfield - Pymmes Park wetland
Retrieved 14 May 2015

Recreation

Facilities include a

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

club,

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

courts. multi-use games area,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

pitches, children's playground, lake and ornamental pond. The Pymmes Brook Trail follows the approximate course of

Pymmes Brook Pymmes Brook is located in North London and named after William Pymme, a local landowner. 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 al ...

which flows through the park. Since 2011, 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 ...

is held in the park. The park includes a memorial to John Alexander Christie VC.

Public transport

Silver Street railway station Silver Street is a station on the Weaver line of the London Overground, located in Edmonton in the London Borough of Enfield, north London. It is down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between and stations. Its three-lett ...

on the

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, it now serves a large part of Greate ...

's Weaver line is opposite the park, which is also served by London bus routes: 34,

102 102 may refer to: *102 (number), the number * AD 102, a year in the 2nd century AD * 102 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 102 (ambulance service), an emergency medical transport service in Uttar Pradesh, India * 102 (Clyde) Field Squadron, Royal E ...

144 144 may refer to: * 144 (number), the natural number following 143 and preceding 145 * AD 144, a year of the Julian calendar, in the second century AD * 144 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * 144 (film), ''144'' (film), a 2015 Indian com ...

, 149,

192 Year 192 ( CXCII) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aelius and Pertinax (or, less frequently, year 945 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 192 for this yea ...

259 Year 259 ( CCLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aemilianus and Bassus (or, less frequently, year 1012 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 259 for thi ...

279 __NOTOC__ Year 279 ( CCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Probus and Paternus (or, less frequently, year 1032 ''Ab urbe condita''). The den ...

349 __NOTOC__ Year 349 (Roman numerals, CCCXLIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Limenius and Catullinus (or, less frequently, year 1102 ''Ab urbe condita''). T ...

and

444 Year 444 ( CDXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius and Aginatius (or, less frequently, year 1197 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 444 for ...

References

External links

Pymmes Park information

{{Parks and open spaces in London Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Enfield Edmonton, London 1906 establishments in England