Park Bench

News from around the London Parks

• Friends Celebrate Restoration of Canons Park

• Sloane Square Group Battles RBKC Plan

• Tour de France 2007 Starts in London Parks

• Orangery Garden Restored at Hampton Court

• Clissold Park "Most Loved Place in Hackney"

• Wood Sculptures Stolen in Highgate

• Virtual Tour of Finsbury Park

• Hyde Park Memorial for 7/7

• Park Keeper Found 21/7 Bomb

• Towards a Plan for Hampstead Heath

• Pageant to Celebrate Cavalry Museum

• Kenwood Music Cancelled

Friends Celebrate Restoration of Canons Park

On Saturday 9th June there will be an official opening ceremony to mark the completion of the restoration of Canons Park HA8 (LB Harrow). The day has been chosen to coincide with Loire Valley Wines Open Garden Squares Weekend, in which the park is taking part.

Canons Park is a registered Grade II Historic Landscape and contains several listed buildings. The park was part of one of the grandest homes and gardens of 1700s England, developed by the 1st Duke of Chandos. The Duke lost his vast fortune in the South Sea Bubble, and had to abandon Canons. The house fell into ruin and was rebuilt in about 1754 by William Hallett, a prominent cabinet maker of the time. Much of Hallett's building still exists as part of the North London Collegiate School, which now occupies the site.

That part of the grounds remaining undeveloped was acquired by Harrow Council in 1936 for the present public park. The King George V Memorial Garden, once part of the duke's walled kitchen garden, was created at this time. 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 flowerbeds and a pavilion. In 2006 the garden and the park were restored with support of the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The park is supported by an active friends group, www.friendsofcanonspark.org.uk Membership costs £5 a year, and for this you receive a quarterly newsletter. Cheques should be payable to Friends of Canons Park and sent to Mike Turner, Membership Secretary, Friends of Canons Park, 254 Whitchurch Lane, Edgware, HA8 6QH, giving name, address, telephone number and optionally e-mail address.

Sloane Square Group Battles RBKC Plan

Plans to change the traffic flow around Sloane Square have landed the RB Kensington & Chelsea in the middle of a major planning row. 

RBKC's favoured scheme involves rerouting local roads across the existing square, creating enlarged pedestrian areas around the edges. (See www.rbkc.gov.uk/sloanesquare.)  Local pressure group Save Sloane Square (www.savesloanesquare.co.uk) claims that the council has suppressed projections of the true impact on the flow of traffic in neighbouring streets.

Following the release of recent figures on this, Dr James Thompson, Chairman of Save Sloane Square, said: "I am dismayed that [the council] have refused to publish traffic figures in the consultation document. The people of Chelsea need to be properly informed by their Council about how this proposal would affect their lives."

The Sloane Square Improvement Group, which includes Save Sloane Square, has put forward an alternative scheme, developed by international design consultancy Atkins, which renovates the Square but retains the existing road layout.

The protestors' group has acquired celebrity supporters including rock star Bryan Ferry, actor Rupert Everett and TV journalist Sue Lawley.

Tour de France 2007 Starts in London Parks

The 'Grand Départ' of the Tour de France, the world's largest annual sporting event, will be taking place in London for the first time during the weekend of 6th-8th July 2007.

The opening ceremony will be in Trafalgar Square on 6th July followed by a set-piece time-trial event, the Prologue, on Saturday 7th July. This will be a five-mile lap of central London, starting on Whitehall, taking in the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, Green Park and St James's Park, and finishing on the Mall.

On Sunday 8th July the event proper gets underway, as the cyclists head out across Kent to Canterbury and the English channel. The preceding Sunday (1st July) will see the parks host a demonstration event around the same London circuit for 5000 British cyclists.

Find out more at www.tourdefrancelondon.com, where the organisers are also inviting applications to become race marshals.

Orangery Garden Restored at Hampton Court

This summer will see the culmination of 20 years of research, with the restoration of the baroque Lower Orangery Garden at Hampton Court Palace (formerly known as the Greenhouse Quarter).

A variety of exotic plants will represent the different seasons and "pay tribute to King William and Queen Mary, two of England's greatest horticultural pioneers", said Terry Gough, Head of Gardens and Estate at Hampton Court Palace, recently. Queen Mary loved exotics from the Mediterranean and the New World and her collection included 2000 different species. It was so large it needed a full-time botanist to care for it. Much of the collection moved to Kew when Hampton Court ceased to be a royal residence in 1760 and it died out in the First Word War.

A charity gala preview will be held on 2nd July 2007 in aid of the restoration project. To book call 0845 3700 128 or visit www.rhs.org.uk/hamptoncourt/2007/gala.

Clissold Park "Most Loved Place in Hackney"

Clissold Park has won the title of 'Most Loved Place' in Hackney in the 'I Love Hackney' competition, beating off strong contenders including the Hackney Empire, London Fields and Springfield Park.

Wood Sculptures Stolen in Highgate

Giant wood sculptures of a fish and two horses have been stolen from Holly Lodge Park in Highgate.

The sculptures were carved by artist Friedel Bueckling from a 200-year-old tree which was felled in the Highgate estate in January, after tree surgeons said it was in danger of collapse.

The tree was much loved by local residents. They asked Mr Bueckling, who has works on display in Trent Park and on the Southbank, to make a series of sculptures from the tree for children to play on.

The artist said: "I couldn't believe it when I came back in the morning and saw they were gone. They are very big: you would need at least two people and a car to move them."

If you have any information, please call Mr Bueckling on 07890 008957.

Virtual Tour of Finsbury Park

Panoramic images of the restored Finsbury Park can be viewed online on Haringey's web site.

Hyde Park Memorial for 7/7

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has announced that a memorial to the 52 innocent people who died in the 7th July 2006 terror attacks is to be set up in Lovers' Walk in Hyde Park.

The Government has allocated £1m towards the project.

Park Keeper Found 21/7 Bomb

Details have emerged of the park keeper who found the device abandoned by one of the alleged bombers of 21st July 2006 in Little Wormwood Scrubs. Groundsman Jackie Whitcomb, who works for the LB Hammersmith& Fulham, came across the device two days after the attack.

"It was in the shrubbery but I could see it. I didn't realise what it was. I couldn't lift it with my paper picker, as it was too awkward ... I bent down and picked it up, and, when I saw the nuts and bolts on it, I slowly put it down and briskly walked away", Whitcomb told the court at the trial of the alleged fifth bomber Manfo Kwaku Asiedu.

With fellow park worker Russell Oakley, Whitcomb contacted the police and a Scotland Yard Explosives officer was on the scene within 25 minutes.

Towards a Plan for Hampstead Heath

A new draft strategy for Hampstead Heath, Towards a Plan for the Heath 2007-2017, was published in February, drawn up by Heath Superintendent Simon Lee and his team.

A key question for local amenity societies is whether "the unique character" of the Heath can be preserved if greater numbers of people are encouraged to use it. Issues which arouse strong local feelings include the future of the ponds, and catering for the increasing number of cyclists on the Heath.

The strategy which, includes 'aspirational goals' as diverse as exploring how much it would cost to heat the Lido in winter and grazing animals - sheep or cows - on the heath once more, has been positively received by local amenity societies and interested parties.

Pageant to Celebrate Cavalry Museum

The Household Cavalry is to stage an historical and ceremonial pageant on Horse Guards Parade on the evening of June 12th, starting at 7.00pm.

The pageant will mark the opening of the new purpose-built Household Cavalry Museum at Horse Guards Parade by Her Majesty The Queen and will include:

• the inspection of The Queen's Life Guard by The Queen followed by the official opening of the Museum.
• live historical re-enactments, including the Coronation Procession of King Charles II, a cavalry charge at Waterloo and the liberation of Brussels.
• the Mounted Bands of The Life Guards and The Blues & Royals.
• more than 200 horses - and a camel.
• mounted ceremonial and cavalry drills not seen since 1939.
• historic military vehicles.
• drive-past of modern armoured reconnaissance vehicles.

The existing Household Cavalry Museum in Windsor is being refurbished as a support facility for the new London operation.

Donations and public subscriptions together with a significant award from the Heritage Lottery Fund have so far raised £4m of the projected £4.5m cost of the new museum.

The pageant is being staged for one night only. Tickets start from £20 and are available through Ticketmaster - www.ticketmaster.co.uk. Funds raised by ticket sales will go to the Household Cavalry Museum Appeal.

Kenwood Music Cancelled

The summer evening music concerts at Kenwood have been cancelled this year. In recent years the concerts, which took place on a bandstand looking across the lake, have become the target of a number of complaints by local residents.

There were also technical problems identified in staging the concerts there following the recent restoration work on the ponds and the bridge. This is the first time in 55 years that the concerts have been cancelled.

Work behind the Scenes

Trust News from Chair BARBARA SIMMS

Since the last newsletter of 2006, Trust officers have been concerned with the necessary, but essentially administrative, work of the Trust. Much of this is to meet changes in Charity Commission requirements, particularly in relation to the preparation of Trust accounts and the Annual Report, and the burden of the work has, therefore, fallen on Ross Holland (Treasurer) and Mike Dawson (Secretary).

Ross has also recently set up a separate trading company for the Trust, primarily to deal with sponsorship monies for Open Garden Squares Weekend, which would otherwise take us over the VAT registration threshold.

New Design Initiative

Since her election last year, Liz Goodfellow (Vice- chair) has taken on responsibility for 'marketing' the Trust, one of her first projects being to redesign the membership leaflet. This is now well in hand and will be produced in accordance with the new corporate guidelines recently prepared to ensure that the Trust has a consistent brand identity.

This is particularly important when the Trust is involved in events with other organisations or sponsors, such as in Open Garden Squares Weekend, or under the names of specific 'stand-alone' projects such as The London Inventory of Historic Green Spaces and the London Parks Discovery Project (LPDP).

The Corporate guidelines include specifications for the Trust's logo (size, colour and position) and the font (Arial) that should be used for all printed information, including minutes of meetings, letters to members and notification of events. This consistent format will eventually extend to the design of Trust websites and newsletters.

These activities, although largely routine, are essential for any successful organisation, and I would like to thank those involved for their commitment to the continuing development of the Trust as a vibrant force in the protection of London's green heritage.

Open Garden Squares Weekend Success

Following on from the theme of accessibility in the last Trust News, I am delighted to report that over 160 sites are already participating in Open Garden Squares Weekend this year, which takes us almost to the 50% increase on the baseline of 114 sites required to fulfil the Open Garden Squares Weekend Development Project target. The event will also cover 22 London boroughs, expanding from the central London and City emphasis of earlier years.

Although results of last year's survey suggest the event is being attended by a more diverse audience, accessibility still needs to be developed, as there has been no increase in the overall numbers attending.

Sarah Jackson is, however, to be congratulated on her successful and enthusiastic management of this Heritage Lottery Fund supported project, which completes this autumn. If you are interested in helping at the weekend event this year (9-10 June), please contact Val Burton (Open Garden Squares Weekend Co-ordinator) at the Trust office.

Inventory Web-Enabled

The sites on the London Inventory of Historic Green Spaces are now listed on the Trust website at www.londongardenstrust.org/inventory courtesy of Colin Wing (website manager) and Sally Williams (Keeper of the Inventory).

Full details of specific sites, in electronic or hard-copy format, can be obtained from Sally via the Trust office, a service provided free to members of the Trust (but rarely used).

This Inventory information needs to be more accessible and we are actively pursuing making it available on-line as an independent website. Discussions with Footmark Media (who set up the London Parks Discovery Project website www.parkexplorer.org.uk) will clarify costs before funding is sought.

The London Parks Discovery Project, in its second phase, funded by the Bridge House Trust, has achieved its target of enrolling 100% more schools (from 19 to 40) in the project in the four participating boroughs of Enfield, Greenwich, Newham and Wandsworth.

It is now well established in these boroughs and thought needs to be given to

1. what will happen in March 2009 in these boroughs when the funding ends
2. how the project can be extended to other boroughs.

In conjunction with Deborah Jarman (Project Co-ordinator), the Trust is considering the way forward and welcomes enquiries from boroughs interested in future participation.

Hazelle Jackson adds ...

I have now been editing London Landscapes since Spring 2002. When I took over the newsletter, Barbara was keen to establish a new look and feel for it and I have been grateful to Barbara for her advice and support in developing London Landscapes since then. Now that Chris Sumner is taking over as Chairman, I am sure LPGT members will wish to join me in thanking Barbara for all her hard work for the Trust during her years in the Chair.

May AGM: Chris Sumner to Step Up

AT this year's AGM on May 16, Chris Sumner (Chair-elect) will be taking over as Chair, so this will be the last Trust News I shall write for London Landscapes.

I would, therefore, like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have supported my six years as Chair of the London Parks & Gardens Trust, whether as co-officers, on subgroups, as representatives of other heritage organisations or as supporters of Trust activities. It has been an exciting and formative period for the Trust, to which I am pleased and privileged to have contributed.

Chris, now well into his recuperation from a recent heart operation, has a wealth of planning and conservation experience from his time as architect and landscape architect with English Heritage's London Region. Under his leadership, the Trust is well placed to develop its rôle as a leader in the promotion and protection of London's historic green spaces.