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Canons Park is largely located on the site of the magnificent early 18th-century country house Cannons built between 1713 and 1725 by Brydges, after his wife Mary died, along with his second wife, Cassandra Willoughby.[1]
A few years after the Duke's death in 1744 this house was also demolished. The current building on the site housing the North London Collegiate School was built around 1760 by the gentleman cabinet-maker William Hallett. The original house-site, transformed into ambitious Edwardian gardens was bought in 1929 by the school for £17,500 (equivalent to £1,344,000 in 2023)[2]. A large portion of the original gardens of James Brydges' house now form the public pleasure gardens of Canons Park. The modern park includes the Memorial Gardens, a folly known as 'the Temple' (not to be confused with a different folly of the same name within the North London Collegiate School grounds) and an orchard.
Canons Drive follows the original path of the entrance to James Brydges' house, retaining the two large pillars which acted as gateposts where it met the Edgware Road. The remains of a second, raised, carriageway running from Cannons can be traced through Canons Park in the direction of Whitchurch Lane. A 7-acre (28,000 m2) lake and a separate duck pond also formed part of the original Cannons Estate and survive within the boundaries of the Canons Drive residential area.[3]
Canons Park, 18 hectares (44 acres) in size, is listed as Grade II on the Register of Parks and Gardens.[4].
The designation recognises features surviving from the ducal park (including two lakes, the Basin Lake and the Seven Acre Lake - the latter being a private lake for owners of property on the Canons Park Estate), as well as more recent features.
The main park has entrances at Howberry Road on the West side - with a bridge going over the Jubilee underground line, Whitchurch lane and Donnefield Avenue to the South and the end of Canons Drive on the East side. Across from the Howberry Road entrance is an extension - essentially a footpath - connecting Howberry Road with Marsh Lane.
The park contains several listed buildings including a bothy, now used as the base for Liam's in the Park coffee shop (the "Good Friends of Canon's Park" cafe) and the Garden Temple.
The King George V Memorial Garden is a walled garden in the park. This area was originally part of the duke's kitchen gardens and was re-designed in the 1930s, after the park became public. The garden reflects the 1930s period, with a structure of evergreens highlighted by seasonal displays. It features a central square pool surrounded by a raised terrace with steps, formal flower beds and a pavilion. In 2006-7 the garden and the park were restored with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund.[5]
Two woodland walks on each side of the park preserve the woodland. The first and shorter walk goes from just after the railway bridge near the Howberry Road entrance, to the green just below the Bothy and the Good Friends Cafe. The second walk goes from Canons Park Drive down the whole park to St Lawrence's Church. Parallel to this is the tree-lined carriage way leading from Whitchurch Lane to what is now North London Collegiate School but was originally the path taken by carriages to the mansion itself.
There is a large enclosed play area with swings, a slide, and various other children's playground equipment to the south of the coffee shop. Nearby is a climbing rock, a basketball hoop and two table-tennis tables. Near the cafe is an outside activity gym and a garden centre operated by the Shaw Trust.
Situated adjacent to the public park is the church of St Lawrence Whitchurch, the parish church of Little Stanmore. The church has a stone tower dating from c. 1360 and the main body of the church was rebuilt in a Continental Baroque style in 1714-16 for Brydges by John James (Colvin). The interior walls and ceiling are covered with paintings.
Barnet F.C.'s training ground complex, The Hive, opened in the locality in 2009. The club constructed their new 5,176 capacity home ground at the site, which opened in summer 2013, and is shared with Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women and London Bees.
Canons Drive in the 1990s, showing Wellingtonia trees lining the driveCommemorative sign at the start of Canons Drive, giving historical noteHouses in Cloyster Wood in Canons Park. Note: this is not part of the Canons Park Estate and is a residential street off Howberry Road, Canons ParkThe distinctive look of the road, with these trees, makes it a favourite site for films and it often fills in for residential streets in affluent US cities.
Du Cros's involvement is commemorated in some local street names - specifically Du Cros Drive, Craigweil Drive and Craigweil Close named after Du Cros's house in Bognor.
