Description
References to Child's Hill as a place name date from at least 1593, and it is likely it was called after Richard le Child, who owned land here in the C14th. At one time there was a brick and tile making industry, which supplied materials when the Hampstead area was being developed from the late C18th. Housing development at Child's Hill was rapid once the Child's Hill and Cricklewood Station opened in 1870. Childs Hill Park was created on land that was gifted to the Hendon Board for this purpose in 1891 by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The park was laid out with a paddling pool, pavilion, bowling green and tennis courts.
Practical Information
| Site location | Granville Road/Hodford Road/Nant Road, Childs Hill |
|---|---|
| Postcode | NW2 2AT |
| What3Words | ///hardly.cove.chief |
| Type of Site | Public Park |
| Borough | Barnet |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Facilities | Tennis courts, large playground, bowling green |
| Public Transport | Tube: Golders Green (Northern) then bus. Bus 226, [102]. |
| Research Updated | 1 August 2000 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
References to Child's Hill as a place name date from at least 1593, and it is likely it was called after Richard le Child, who owned land here in the C14th. At one time there was a brick and tile making industry, which supplied materials when the Hampstead area was being developed from the late C18th. Due to its altitude and visibility Childs Hill was the site for an optical telegraph station from 1789-1847 and in 1808 became one of the telegraph stations between the Admiralty and Great Yarmouth that served the country's national defences.The land for the recreation ground was gifted to Hendon Board by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, although The Hendon and Finchley Times of 13 March 1891 reports on complaints by members of Hendon Board about 'the expensive conditions attached to this gift of a recreation ground that involved building a sewer and a wall. The matter was eventually resolved, and the park, with its pavilion, bowling green and tennis courts, is today much used by local residents.' (Jo Goldsworthy). The OS map of 1936 shows the park laid out with paddlling pool, tennis courts and bowling green. The park opens to a grassed area surrounded by quite thick, well-planted shrubberies with seating in niches, and various trees throughout. The park is quite well maintained although it is a rather bland space, with no formal areas of planting to speak of. There are tennis courts, playground and hedged bowling green, and a one-storey pavilion much graffitied, used as a clubhouse for activities.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ247868 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | LB Barnet |
| Site Management | Leisure and Youth Services, Green Spaces Division/Friends of Basing Hill and Childs Hill Parks |
| Dates | 1890s |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Barnet |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | Yes |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Premier Park (with Basing Hill Park) |
Gallery
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Nearby parks and gardens
Basing Hill Park is a small park on land that was open fields until the 1920s, but was then increasingly developed for housing. The recreation ground was laid out by 1936 to serve the growing population. The park is largely grassed with perimeter shrubs and trees, including a number of evergreen trees and conifers. Near the entrance on Hendon Way are tennis courts and 2 small built structures, adjacent to which is a small area of rose beds and concrete tubs. A tarmac path runs around the perimeter of the park.
St Alban and St Michael's Church is an imposing brick building, planned in 1925 but not built until 1932-33, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in free Gothic style. The church hall to the south was built as the first church here in 1909 by Herbert Wills. Golders Green developed rapidly after the Northern Line was extended and the station opened here in 1907, with the line reaching Edgware in 1924; the North Circular Road and Hendon Way were constructed in the 1920s. The church is set within a pleasant garden with lawns, trees and shrubs. Archbishop Desmond Tutu was Curate at St Alban's in the 1960s.
Golders Hill Park is on the site of Golders Hill House and grounds, purchased at auction in 1898 by a committee of local residents. It was opened by the LCC in 1899, the first public park in Hendon. The estate was created in the 1760s for Charles Dingley, for whom 'Capability' Brown reputedly landscaped the grounds, which were improved by Humphry Repton for a subsequent owner. In the 1870s Robert Marnock made further alterations to create a 'natural gardening effect' and enlarged the lake. The café stands on the site of the house, demolished in 1941. The old kitchen garden was laid out by the LCC as an 'Old English Garden'. The park has a woodland garden walk leading to tennis courts, the Swan Pond and Water Gardens; animal enclosures, a small zoo and aviary; on the open grass slope are ancient oaks and a C20th bandstand; a number of sculptures.
