Inventory Site Record

Roxeth Recreation Ground dates from the early C20th. Its name recalls the medieval manor and hamlet of Roxeth, which was rural until housing development began to take place in the early C20th. By 1914 some houses had been built to the west but much of the surrounding area remained undeveloped until the 1940/50s and even today there is much open land.

Site location:

Kingsley Road/Eastcote Road, South Harrow

Postcode:

HA2

What 3 Words:

lamps.pulled.sling

Type of site:

Public Park

Borough:

Harrow

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

main gates to car park 7.30am - dusk, otherwise unrestricted

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Children's play area, football pitches, cricket square, tennis court, multi-use court, basketball practice goal, car park. Bowling green (Roxeth Bowling Club)

Events:

Public transport:

Tube: South Harrow (Piccadilly). Bus: 114, 140, 398, 487, H10, H12

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/01/2012

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.harrow.gov.uk

The name Roxeth derives from 'Hroces Seath' which in Old English may mean a lake or spring where rooks drink, or perhaps a lake belonging to a family called Hroc. The hamlet was within the parish of Harrow on the Hill and first mentioned in 845 AD when monks from Christ Church in Canterbury drained land here. The old medieval manor of Roxeth had connections with King Stephen, and until the late C19th Roxeth was a predominantly agricultural area. Housing development was encouraged by the arrival of the new railway links. The Metropolitan District Railway opened South Harrow Station in 1903 as the terminus of its new extension from Park Royal and Twyford Abbey and in 1926 South Harrow and Roxeth Station opened on the Marylebone to High Wycombe railway line, renamed Northolt Park Station in 1929. When the station here was named South Harrow, Roxeth lost its individual identity. The recreation ground remains sandwiched between two railway lines. By the 1950s a bowling green and tennis courts had been provided, the former used by Roxeth Bowls Club. There is some planting of conifers near the toilet block and car park, but the park is otherwise largely playing fields, with perimeter paths, although ornamental gates remain at the entrance.

Sources consulted:

Ben Weinreb & Christopher Hibbert, 'The London Encyclopaedia' (Macmillan, revised ed. 1993).

Grid ref:

TQ143860 (514449,185977)

Size in hectares:

6.88

Site ownership:

LB Harrow

Site management:

Environmental Services, Parks Services

Date(s):

early C20th

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:

Yes

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

None