Park of the week

94. Joseph Grimaldi Park

This small park is in the south of Islington, a short walk from King's Cross along Pentonville Road. 

It was once it was a burial ground for Pentonville Chapel, later known as St James’s Anglican Chapel. In the late 19th century, it was transformed into a public park and named in honour of its most influential ‘resident’, Joseph Grimaldi, who lived from 1778 to 1837. Grimaldi is considered the father of modern clowning and his grave, in the park surrounded by a fence, is considered a pilgrimage site for the clowning community. We didn’t see any clowns when we visited, but neither of us is scared of them anyway. Many of the other tombstones are piled up against the north boundary wall.

The park was refurbished in 2010, including a musical installation commemorating Grimaldi and the musician Charles Dibdin, his employer at Sadlers Wells. It consists of two coffin-shaped bonze plates and the title of the work is ‘An Invitation to Dance on the Grave’. The plates are supposed to make bell sounds: according to a press release from the time, it’s supposed to play the song ‘Hot Codlins’, (an old term for a baked apple) which Grimaldi himself made famous. Neither Jack nor I could get a sound out of them, though.

The park itself is divided into four sections, divided by old brick walls. There’s the decorative park with the grave, another section containing grass covered mounds under trees, a third is an open space, and the fourth has a tennis court and playground. The walls separating the street from the playground have been painted by the children who attend the nearby school. There are lots of places to sit.

Trees, such as lime, London plane and horse chestnut grow in the park, as well as wild plants and flowers. I noticed cow parsley, shepherd’s purse, bluebells, and star of Bethlehem. This last one is known by several other names as well, some apply to me too: eleven o’clock lady, grass lily, nap-at-noon and sleepydick.

There are no café or toilets. The park is closed on Tuesdays. We found space to park on a nearby side street.

Judith Field

Joseph Grimaldi Park, 11 Collier St, London N1 9JU