Old Court House Recreation Ground (Barnet)
Brief Description
In the C19th the land was owned by the Rumball family and leased for pasture, a brewery and stables, and two houses. In 1912 the brewery site was purchased by Barnet UDC, who later purchased the freehold of the Old Court House Estate in 1923. The recreation ground on the south side of the gardens opened in 1924 and Barnet Bowls Club was founded here in 1926. The park was formally laid out with an ornamental pond, rockery, shrub and flower beds, and a fine variety of specimen trees.
Practical Information
- Previous / Other name:
- Court House Estate
- Site location:
- Manor Close off Wood Street/Orchard Road/Mays Lane, Chipping Barnet
- Postcode:
- EN5 4BP
- What 3 Words:
- neat.useful.thin
- Type of site:
- Public Park
- Borough:
- Barnet
- Open to public?
- Yes
- Opening times:
- 8am to dusk
- Special conditions:
- Facilities:
- Café, car park, tennis courts, bowling greens, under 14s playground, toilets. Tree Trail
- Events:
- Public transport:
- Tube: High Barnet (Northern) then bus. Bus: 34, 84, 107, 184, 234, 263, 307, 326, 384, 389
- Research updated:
- 09/05/2009
- Last minor changes:
- 19/07/2023
Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.barnet.gov.uk
Full Site Description
At one time Barnet was part of Middlesex Forest. Throughout the C19th, the land that is now the Recreation Ground and the houses fronting onto Wood Street were owned by the Rumball family. When Sampson Rumball died in 1827 ownership passed to his son Samson Augustus Rumball who leased the plots for pasture, two houses, a brewery and stables. The Barnet Brewery Company traded here intermittently from the C18th until its closure in 1909, and in 1911 the brewery site was offered to Barnet Urban District Council for council offices, who in 1912 purchased the site for £1,000. The Council then purchased the freehold of the old Court House Estate in 1923 and opened the recreation ground on the south side of the gardens in 1924; Barnet Bowls Club was founded here in 1926.
The building on Wood Street, which has been Barnet Museum since 1938, was also one of the Rumball properties; for a time it was a private school, Barnet College for Girls, which had closed by 1911.
The park has a pond, shrub and flower beds and a fine variety of trees which are marked as a tree trail including black mulberry, honey locust, Persian ironwood, dawn redwood, paper-bark maple, Brewer's weeping spruce, false acacia, Monterey pine, Scots pine, English and red oak, willow-leaved pear.
Sources consulted:
P Taylor and J Cordern, 'Barnet, Hadley and Totteridge: a pictorial history' (1994); LB Barnet leaflet
Further Information (Planning and Conservation)
- Grid ref:
- TQ244963 (524480,196350)
- Size in hectares:
- 3.11
- Site ownership:
- LB Barnet
- Site management:
- Leisure and Youth Services, Green Spaces Division/Friends of Old Court House
- Date(s):
- C19th; 1923/4
- Designer(s):
- Listed structures:
- None
- 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 Data
The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.
- On Local List:
- No
- In Conservation Area:
- No
- Tree Preservation Order:
- Not known
- Nature Conservation Area:
- No
- Green Belt:
- No
- Metropolitan Open Land:
- No
- Special Policy Area:
- Yes - Area of Special Archaeological Significance
- Other LA designation:
- Premier Park
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.