Canons Park

infobox UK place
country = England
map_type = Greater London
region= London
population=
official_name= Canons Park
latitude= 51.6093
longitude= -0.2884
os_grid_reference= TQ1891
london_borough= Harrow
post_town= STANMORE
postcode_district = HA7
postcode_area= HA
dial_code= 020
constituency_westminster= Harrow East

Canons Park is a residential suburb of London, situated in the north west London Borough of Harrow. It is located to the south of Stanmore, the west of Edgware, and the east of Wealdstone.

Etymology and history

"Canons" refers to the canons or monks of the Augustinian priory of St Bartholomew in Smithfield, London, who owned the manor of Stanmore before the Reformation. Canons Park is largely located on the site of Cannons, a magnificent early 18th century country estate built between 1713-25, by James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos. The original estate, which Brydges had assembled, was divided and sold in parcels; the last, the original house-site, transformed into ambitious Edwardian gardens then put on the market in 1929, was bought by the North London Collegiate School in 1929 for the sum of £17,500. Although the original Canons mansion no longer exists, the later building on the site, erected by the gentleman cabinet-maker William Hallett in 1760, now houses the School. A large portion of the original gardens of the Canons estate now form the public pleasure gardens of Canons Park. The modern park includes the Memorial Gardens, a folly known as 'the Temple' (not to be confused with a different folly of the same name within the North London Collegiate School grounds) and an orchard.

Canons Drive, in Edgware follows the original path of the entrance to the Canons estate, retaining the two large pillars which acted as gateposts where it met the Edgware Road. The remains of a second, raised, carriageway running from Canons can be traced through Canons Park in the direction of Whitchurch Lane. A seven acre lake and separate duck pond also formed part of the original Canons Estate and survive within the boundaries of the Canons Drive residential area.

Canons Park

Canons Park is a registered Grade II Historic Landscape and contains several listed buildings. The King George V Memorial Garden is a walled garden in the park. The Memorial Garden area was part of the duke’s kitchen gardens and was completely re-designed in the 1930s, after the park became public. 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 flower beds and a pavilion. In 2006-7 the garden and the park were restored with support of the Heritage Lottery Fund. [ [http://www.opensquares.org/detail/index.html?../detail/Canons.html Open Garden Squares Weekend ] ]

The raised carriageway referred to above that runs across Canons Park to Whitchurch Lane used to be suggested as the remains of an underground tunnel llinking the house (North london Collegiate) to St lawrence's Church.

t Lawrence Whitchurch

Situated adjacent to the public park is the remarkable church of St Lawrence, Whitchurch. It has a stone tower of ca. 1360, but main body of the church was rebuilt in a unique Continental Baroque style in 1714-16 for Brydges by John James (Colvin). The walls and ceiling of the dramatic interior are covered with paintings by Italian artists. The panels on the ceiling show miracles taken mostly from St John’s Gospel. The ceiling above the altar depicts the "Adoration of Jehovah". Behind the altar is an imitation sky, lit by a concealed window which is characteristic of the baroque style of continental Europe. The tradition and style suggests that the whole of the ceiling was painted by Louis Laguerre. The paintings of the Nativity and the Descent from the Cross, which are seen on either side of the altar, and the Transfiguration, which is above the Duke’s Pew, are attributed to Antonio Bellucci.

Most of the interior woodwork is original and is attributed to Grinling Gibbons. This includes the organ case which is carved with cherubs, pea pods and other typical Grinling Gibbons decorations. The famous composer George Frideric Handel was employed by Brydges in 1717-18 as his composer-in-residence. At the time Brydges had yet to be elevated to the dukedom, but the eleven anthems he commissioned from Handel are known as the "Chandos Anthems", and these were almost certainly performed at the church with Handel directing the singers and small orchestra employed by his patron.

On the north side of the church is the Mausoleum, again built to the order of the first Duke of Chandos. The centrepiece documented by Grinling Gibbons, 1717, is a Baroque monument to the Duke and his wives, for which the Duke felt he had overpaid (Gunnis).

ervices and transport

The area is served by Canons Park (Jubilee Line) and Edgware (Northern Line) tube stations of the London Underground system.

Notes

References

* [http://www.little-stanmore.org St Lawrence Little Stanmore]
* Rupert Gunnis, "Dictionary of British Sculptors, 1660-1851" (rev. ed.): "Grinling Gibbons"
* Howard Colvin, 1995 (3rd ed.). "A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1660-1840." (Yale University Press): "John James"

External links

* [http://www.friendsofcanonspark.org.uk Friends of Canons Park]
* [http://www.harrow.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=802 Canons Park Restoration Project]