Park of the week

199. Highbury Fields

Highbury Fields is the largest open space in Islington and is mainly a recreation area. It’s triangular and on sloping land. It was opened in 1885 but the idea for a much larger park at Highbury was first proposed in 1850, to be called Albert Park. However, the campaign failed to raise the necessary £200,000 to purchase the land and by the end of the 1850s much of the area was built over with villas and terraced houses. Highbury Fields is on the little of the land that was left.

In 1905 the Boer War Memorial by Bertram McKennal, featuring a wreath, cannons and the captured standards of defeated enemies, was unveiled at the southwest corner of the Fields. It represents Glory holding a figure of Victory in her right hand and a laurel wreath in her left. It commemorates the 101 Islington residents who fell in the war. 

In 1924 the Fields, apart from a shrubbery at the margin, were laid out in grass with gravelled walks with a dry playground at the northern end. From 1921-79 there was an open-air swimming pool. Air raid shelters were built here in WWII.

The Fields are divided into two halves by Highbury Crescent. There are many notable plane trees, oak, horse chestnut and lime trees, with planes lining the perimeter of the park and its main walks. 
In the north of the park are football, tennis, hockey and other sports facilities. There’s also a table tennis table, children’s play area and a bandstand. There are toilets and a café. The park is home to a weekly 5K parkrun.

In 2009 conservationists launched a campaign to boost London's sparrow population, which had significantly declined because of deteriorating conditions such as traffic increase, paving over gardens and development over green space. The three-year scheme led to the creation of meadows in areas of over twenty London parks, including Highbury Fields, which have been sown to provide seed-rich habitats. Each site is managed using three different planting schemes of grass seed, wildflower meadow and wildlife seed mix, and it also aims to encourage butterflies and moths, other birds and bats.

Judith Field

Highbury Fields, Highbury Crescent, London N5 1AR