Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Should Finsbury Park be know as American Park
Finsbury Park was part of Honsey Wood historically. It’s name comes from green space developed in Finsbury, near Sadler’s Wells, (it was named to appease the residents loss of amenity, (please correct me on detail, but that’s the gist.)
American Gardens, the stretch of park flanking Endymion Road is where soldiers camped leading up to D Day, & maybe even before. I was always disappointed that there wasn’t any American planting to reflect this historic encampment, many plants to choose from, not least American Red Woods.
in the park there is basket ball, baseball, and American Football. Ten Pin bowling at Rowans, now an institution in its own right. So what else can be done all but in name ?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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The American Gardens were part of Mackenzie's original plan for the park. The gardens comprised rhododendrons and azaleas in formal beds. Why would he have done this? American (North America and the Caribbean) plants were in vogue. They formed the first wave of exotic plants to be imported from Britain's imperial connections for use in gardens. The gardens for Harringay House had a significant amount of American planting, from about 1815, including its renowned magnolia trees.
Also, see this old discussion on the same topic.
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Permalink Reply by Paul Soper on
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The area where a small number of people now exclude everyone else to play softball (or some other American sport) was, in the 1960s, a cricket pitch, with extensive nets for practice, and every evening in the summer was crammed with people of all commonwealth backgrounds playing and practising cricket. In the 1970/80s our dear council must have decided this was an elitist sport and it stopped to be replaced by the "sports" that are played exclusively be relatively few people now. I believe that the American Gardens section of the park which is next to the old cricket field was named because of American specimen plants planted there - but I could be wrong...
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With regard to the gardens, see my reply above. With regard to the cricket pitch, the council may not be to blame. If you read my recent history of the old cricket pitch, you’ll see that in fact that part of the park has been leased from the mid-nineteenth century. I don’t know to what extent the council are able to control what the lessee does.
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It may be the case the case the our beloved borough was not to blame for the cessation of cricket (although suspiciously the cessation of the activity coincided with a particularly loony left phase of the council), maybe the lease just ended. But I do have fond memories of watching from the top deck of a 141 headed up towards Turnpike Lane as there were dozens and dozens of people practicing and playing on a summer's evening...
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There is no such thing as "the loony left". Most of the stories were invented by The Sun and Alexander Boris De Pfeffel Johnson when he wrote nonsense for the Spectator.
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There certainly was in Haringey in the 70s and 80s...
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