Park of the week

42. Childs Hill Park

Jack asked to visit this park, rather than me finding it. He didn’t know its name but told me that it was near his primary school (he’s got a long memory). That was in Cricklewood and there were several parks that it could have been, but after a few loud arguments and a desperate drive in the pouring rain, when we found it but didn’t get out of the car, I got the right place. 

It’s thought that Childs Hill was probably named after Richard le Child, a local landowner in the fourteenth century. In the late nineteenth century, there was rapid housing development in the area, and in 1891 the Ecclesiastical Commissioners gave land for Childs Hill Park to the Local Authority. Is seems the gift was not as straightforward as it might sound because The Hendon and Finchley Times of 13 March 1891 reports complaints from the local authority about ‘the expensive conditions attached to this gift of a recreation ground that involved building a sewer and a wall.’ I do love the British Newspaper Archive.

Childs Hill Park is one of Barnet’s Premier Parks. It’s mostly open space with shrubberies and flower beds round the edge. It has two tennis courts, a multi-sports court, a bowls club, outdoor gym, children’s playground, cafe, and toilets. Like so many places that we visit, there’s a stream there, although all you can really see is the pipe it runs through, along the southern edge. This is Clitterhouse Brook, a tributary of the River Brent.

Young people with learning difficulties work on eco projects at the park as part of Highgate's Harrington garden scheme. In September 2021, a picnic grove was opened in the park, marking the end of a project lasting several years to upgrade the facilities including new gym equipment, a marsh garden, benches and planted areas. Near the play area, in the marsh garden, are a number of carved wooden animals. 

Access is from Nant Road, Hodford Road and Granville Road. NW2. There isn’t a car park, but we found space on the nearby streets.

Judith Field

Childs Hill Park, Granville Rd, London NW2 2AT