Description
This is a Victorian recreation ground laid out in the late C19th on land previously known as 'Mrs Cook's Farm'. Barnet Football Club played here in the 1889/90 season, before moving to a new ground in 1890. Victoria Recreation Ground has the remains of a formal garden comprising a circular mound with a perimeter walk laid out as a rose garden. Adjacent to this is a drinking fountain with the inscription 'Honest Water which never left man in the Mire', the gift of Morgan Harvey in 1882.
Practical Information
| Site location | Lawton Road/Victoria Road/Park Road, New Barnet |
|---|---|
| Postcode | EN4 9QB |
| What3Words | ///attend.words.grit |
| Type of Site | Public Park |
| Borough | Barnet |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Facilities | Tennis and basketball courts, playground, bowling green, football, toilets, car park |
| Public Transport | Rail: New Barnet. Bus: 26, 82, 84, 84A, 107, 307 |
| Research Updated | 1 April 2002 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
A Victorian recreation ground that was laid out on land previously known as 'Mrs Cook's Farm' where Barnet Football Club played in the 1889/90 season, before moving to a new ground in 1890 called Ravonscroft Park, now the site of Barnet Grammar School. The recreation ground is on a roughly square area between residential streets, on the eastern entrance side the remains of a formal garden comprising a circular mound with a perimeter walk laid out as a rose garden with rustic arbour fencing, some small bedding displays adjacent to the car park and entrance gates; the rest open grass with tennis courts and bowling green on the north-east side, a few trees on the western side. The Pymmes Trail runs through the park. Adjacent to the rose garden is a granite drinking fountain surrounded by crazy paving. It bears the inscription 'Honest Water which never left man in the Mire', and was the gift of Morgan Harvey in 1882.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ266964 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 3.23 |
| Site Ownership | LB Barnet |
| Site Management | Leisure and Youth Services, Green Spaces Division/Friends of Victoria Recreation Ground |
| Dates | late C19th |
| 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 | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Premier Park |
Gallery
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
Hadley Wood Golf Club was once part of the C18th landscape park of Beech Hill Park, prior to which it was within the royal hunting ground of Enfield Chase until its enclosure in 1777. Francis Russell, the surveyor acting for the Chase owners, the Duchy of Lancaster, was granted 152 acres of land and built his mansion, Beech Hill Park. In the early 1880s the then owner, Charles Jack, proposed to develop much of Hadley Wood for housing, which only partially took place. In 1922, after an abortive attempt to break up the estate for building, it was leased by Hadley Park Golf Club and converted into a golf course, the mansion becoming the Golf Club House. Fishponds of the former estate remain within the grounds.
Christ Church was built in 1837-39 when Cockfosters became a separate parish, and was paid for by Robert Bevan of nearby Trent Park. The hamlet of Cock Fosters effectively developed as an estate village for the large estates of Trent Park and Beech Hill Park. The Bevan Family monument is found in the small churchyard to the north of the church, which has gravestones and some fine monuments among grass, with yew and other trees, roses and shrubs.
Highlands Gardens was formerly the garden of Highlands House, built in 1897 for Bevan Braithwaite, who probably laid out the gardens. When he sold the property in 1930 the house was converted into 8 flats, although it later reverted to a family home after 1951. It gradually deteriorated and was eventually demolished in 1972 when the current flats were built. During WWII the garden was dug up for vegetable plots. Now open to the public, the gardens retain features from the old layout, including terraced lawns and water-gardens up the western side, with C19th rock-works, cascade, rustic bridges and an octagonal wooden summer house.
