Highbury Fields ⁷⁸⁴³

Brief Description

Highbury Fields is scattered with fine oak, horse chestnut and lime trees, with London planes along the boundaries of the park and its principal walks.

History

Until the mid-19th century the land now Highbury Fields was privately owned and used for farming. In 1885 Islington Vestry and the Metropolitan Board of Works jointly acquired some 10.3 hectares for a public park. An earlier proposal to create a much larger ‘Albert Park' in Islington had failed to raise the necessary money to purchase the land and by the end of the 1850s much of the area was built over. In 1891 additional land to the north was purchased and added to the park. Initially public meetings and the playing of music were not permitted but this restriction was lifted in 1896. The Boer War Memorial was erected in 1905 in the south-west corner of the Fields.

Visitor Facilities