Description
Priestmead Recreation Ground is a small park laid out by the late 1930s when this previously rural area was rapidly built over in the interwar period. It is largely grass with some trees and areas of shrubbery. The entrance gates appear to be of the original date. The name is taken from a property that existed to the south called Priestmead, which is marked on C19th maps by Kenton Lane, at that time surrounded by fields.
Practical Information
| Site location | Kingshill Drive/Hartford Avenue |
|---|---|
| Postcode | HA3 |
| What3Words | ///shiny.rating.quiz |
| Type of Site | Public Park |
| Borough | Harrow |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | 7.30am - dusk |
| Facilities | Children's play area, basketball practice goal |
| Public Transport | London Overground/Rail/Tube (Bakerloo): Harrow & Wealdstone then bus/walk. Bus: H10, H18 (walk) |
| Research Updated | 1 January 2012 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ167898 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 1.84 |
| Site Ownership | LB Harrow |
| Site Management | Environmental Services, Parks Services |
| Dates | 1930s |
| 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 | Harrow |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Open Space |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
Wealdstone Cemetery was established by Roxeth Burial Board in 1902, the first burial taking place on 8 November in that year. The boundary with Byron Recreation Ground is hedged, and the cemetery's original stone and brick banded gate piers and entrance gates are of the same design as those at the recreation ground entrance. The Cemetery Superintendent's house was originally the gatehouse at the entrance to the recreation ground on Stuart Road. Serpentine tarmaced paths run through the cemetery, which has some scattered trees and a number of flower beds, with gravestones and monuments set in grass.
Byron Recreation Ground is named after Lord Byron who was educated at Harrow School. The original layout of the park included a pavilion and bandstand, no longer in existence. It has tarmac paths around its perimeter and various walks, with trees, shrubberies and some formal beds near the entrance. A line of Lombardy poplars marks the eastern boundary of the park along the iron railings abutting Wealdstone Cemetery.
Up to 1920 Kenton remained a small village but it grew rapidly as housing was built, largely as a result of the railway coming to the area. Laid out c.1920s, pre-WWII Kenton Recreation Ground was smaller, the north-west corner then being taken up with Wealdstone Sewage Farm, and part of the site was a Council rubbish tip.