Park of the week

182. Harrow Recreation Ground

The names of open spaces in Harrow confuses me a little. I’ve already written about Harrow Weald Recreation Ground (no. 125), and West Harrow Rec is on my list to visit, but this post is about Harrow Recreation Ground. Perhaps the Local Authority ran out of ideas: it seems that over 20% of the land in the Borough is either a park or an open space.

Harrow Recreation Ground is close to the centre of Harrow and is one of the largest parks in the Borough. It was opened in 1885, after the land purchased as a result of fund-raising started by Charles Colbeck, the Assistant Headmaster at Harrow School. They wanted to provide the population of Harrow with space for sport and recreation at a time when the area was beginning to be developed and the open land built over for housing. They purchased a field of some 14 acres, now the area at the top of the current park. In 1889, further areas of land were bought by the parish of Harrow to enlarge the park. The recreation ground was mostly created for sports, with much of the area reserved for use by various local sports clubs.

The park has multi-use courts, an outdoor gym, playground, skateboard area, tennis court, bowling green and a cricket club. It was awarded Green Flag status in 2024. It’s planted throughout with trees, including evergreens and conifers, with shrubs around the perimeter. The eastern edge has mature lime trees, with horse chestnuts and oaks on the western boundary that date from the original planting. Within the park are several field oaks and other trees that predate the park when the land was used for agricultural purposes. The Mayoral Oak Avenue was instituted in 1989 by the then Mayor, and from then until 2004 each outgoing Mayor planted a pedunculate oak tree to complete the avenue. 

A special peace garden was opened in the park in October 2020 after the it received funding and volunteer contributions from the OneJAIN organisation. The opening of the Ahimsa Peace Garden, as it is now known, was in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday – which Groucho Marx, Sting and I happen to share. A specially commissioned stone stack sculpture was put in place in the garden in September 2022, to celebrate the diversity of Harrow. 

There’s car parking at the Roxborough Road entrance, a café but no toilets.

Judith Field

Harrow Recreation Ground, Roxborough Road Harrow, HA1 1PB