Park of the week

172. Russell Park

This park is another one that I found by looking at a map. It’s a small green space surrounded by buildings, in the Noel Park Estate area of Wood Green. Noel Park is one of the earliest garden suburbs in the world. It was opened in 1883, to provide affordable housing to working class families who wanted to move out of the city, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was built on what were then the outskirts of the metropolis by the Artizans, Labourers & General Dwellings Company (Artizans Company).

In 1929, a long, narrow strip of land near the south of the estate on Russell Lane. The road is named after John Russell, former Liberal Prime Minister 1846-1852 and 1865-1866. The plot was designated as parkland and named Russell Park. In 2003, the Council renamed the park Noel Park after consulting with residents. However, Local people were keen to reduce confusion caused by the park sharing a name with a district and pressed for the name of the park to be changed. So, in 2010, Noel Park became Russell Park again.

Works took place to improve Russell Park in the summer of 2009. The focus of the work was on the eastern seating area which had become very overgrown. Local people were reluctant to use the area because the walls, large shrubs and mounds were creating a visual barrier and further contributing to feelings of being unsafe for park users. The park was first awarded the Green Flag Award in 2010 and has kept it ever since. 

The park is the site of community festival each summer. It has trees around the perimeter, grass, shrub beds, hedges and planted areas. There’s a basketball court, a playground (being refurbished at the time of writing this, December 2024), a natural play area, picnic area and an outdoor gym. There’s also a community café with toilets.

Judith Field
 

Russell Park,114 Russell Avenue, London N22 6PS