• Sitemap
• Text Only
• Full Graphics

You are here: Home > Winners > Case Studies

• Local community helps to enhance park’s historic features

• Date:

  13th May 2008

• Contact:

  Sarah Egerton

• Organisation:

  The Civic Trust

Set in the shadow of Alexandra Palace, Priory Park is a calm and attractive open space located in a leafy suburb of north London. The Park has been a favourite with local people for well over 100 years, enjoying functions in the Pavilion or picnics in the Philosopher’s Garden - and its the local people now who help to preserve these treasures.

A special spot for regular visitors to the park is The Philosophers Garden, named after The Priory Park Philosophers, a club for retired elderly men who used the old bandstand in the park for ‘casual conversation during fine weather’ during the Victorian era.

This quiet area has been enhanced in recent years with artwork, made possible a few years ago when the Friends of Priory Park applied for Awards for All lottery funding and successfully secured £5,000. The friends then commissioned local sculptors to create three separate pieces of art: a pond and water feature, a sundial and some unique mushroom seats.

The artwork, driven by the local community, took around six months. Pupils from the nearby Hornsey School for Girls were given a project to make mosaics for the sculpture and other artwork. As well as boasting outdoor sculpture, the Philosopher’s Garden is now also a key wildflower area, holding a pond and a variety of wildflower and native plants. The friends, in conjunction with the Park Service, regularly work to maintain the area, carrying out activities such as cleaning the pond and planting wildflowers.

Priory Park has two old fountains; the Obelisk Fountain in the south-eastern area of the park, which was recently restored through funding from English Heritage; and a large fountain in the north-eastern part of the park. The large fountain needed work and was something which management wanted to improve before applying for Green Flag Award status in 2003. The friends and local community suggested it would make a good showpiece for flowers and shrubs. This was implemented and it has since become a spectacular planter, acting as a much loved and identified local landmark.

Bringing these historic features together and more, the local Hornsey Heritage Society, in partnership with the local BTCV Outreach Officer, produced a 1km heritage trail around the park, marked with plaques and signs detailing points of interest.

Community involvement is a key aspect of achieving and maintaining high standards – to get involved with the Friends of Priory Park or take part in volunteer workdays with conservation charity BTCV, contact Parks Customer Care on 020 8489 5662 or email