Park of the week

91. Friary Park

This is a formal Edwardian park in Friern Barnet, formed from the grounds of Friary House. It was opened to the public in 1910, and the house is now a café. The building is also used as a centre for a number of community groups. 
Just as a reminder, Friern (originally Freren) in Friern Barnet refers to the lordship of the knights of the Hospital of St. John, who owned the land between the late twelfth century and the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the mid-sixteenth century. Barnet means a ‘place cleared by burning’. 

The park has old oak trees that pre-date its creation, and a small stream, Blacketts Brook, a tributary of Pymme's Brook, near the western boundary. The park is a Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation and has received a Green Flag Award. 

At the park's highest point is an 11-foot bronze statue, ‘The Peacemaker’, dedicated to Edward VII, who had died the day before the new park was due to be officially opened. It was donated by benefactor Sydney Simmons, who paid for the purchase of the Friary Estate, on the condition that it forever remain a public park. The statue stood in the park for more than a century without anyone realising it was actually of Queen Victoria (at age 42), made as a memorial to the Great Exhibition, until the Friern Barnet & District Local History Society discovered its true origins. 

The statue originally held a rod of equity and mercy on which a dove, symbolising peace, perched. That was replaced with a spear, which had broken over time. Barnet Council’s restoration work reinstated the dove, and the statue was returned to Friary Park in September 2022.

The park has a basketball hoop, tennis courts, football pitch, skate park, play and picnic areas and an outdoor gym, as well as toilets. It contains quiet gardens and large open spaces, and there’s a walking trail right around the park.

There is access from Torrington Park, Friary Road, and Friern Barnet Lane, N12. We found space to park on the street.

Judith Field

Friary Park, Friern Barnet Lane/Torrington Park/Friary Road, London N12 9PD