Grovelands Park

Grovelands Park is a park located in Southgate in the London Borough of Enfield.

=History
= The park was initially part of a large wooded area that was on near the border of Enfield Chase.

Mr. Walker Grey is the earliest known owner of the Grovelands Estate. Between 1796 and 1798 he purchases 230 acres of land and constructed a large house designed by John Nash. The grounds of the house, the area which would become Grovelands Park, were designed by Humphry Repton.

After Grey's death the house and its grounds were purchased by Mr. John Donnithorne Taylor. He was a relative of Walker Grey. Taylor added 100 acres to the state and gave it the Grovelands name.

Taylor was a proficient hunter and kept a small herd of deer on the state. To prevent the deer coming up to the house he asked for a sunken fence to be constructed. This is still mostly visible today. When Taylor died in 1885 the Grovelands Estate had grown to encompass 600 acres.

In 1916 the house was used as a temporary hospital for injured troops returning from France in World War I. The NHS continued to use the house until 1977. Some time later the house was re-opened as a private hospital and it remains in use as such today.

Southgate Urban District Council bought 64 acres of land from the Taylors in 1911 for £22,893 and Grovelands Park was opened in April 1913.

Access and Facilities
Entrances to the park are located on all edges of the park with the main gate - Inverforth Gate - being located The Bourne. Other gates are located on: All gates have space for parking cars on local roads. Inverforth Gate on The Bourne has disabled car parking spaces and a small, free car park located nearby.
 * Branscome Gardens
 * Broad Walk
 * Church Hill
 * Queen Elizabeth's Drive
 * Seaforth Gardens

The park is poorly served by public transport with no buses serving any of the gates. The nearest train stations are Winchmore Hill railway station (served by First Capital Connect) and Southgate (served by the London Underground's Piccadilly Line). Both of these stations are a 20-30 minute walk away from the nearest park entrance.

The park has two children's play areas, a cafe, toilets, tennis courts and a pitch-and-putt. There is also ample space for playing football.

Habitat
The park still contains small, wooded areas - relics from when the area was heavily wooded. Other habitats include the former boating lake and large expanses of grass.

Species Sighted
Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Canada Goose, Chiffchaff, Sparrowhawk, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Mandarin Duck, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Cormorant, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Greylag Goose, Egyptian Goose, Ruddy Duck, Willow Warbler, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Goldcrest, Firecrest, Grey Heron, House Martin, Shoveler, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Ring-necked Parakeet, Song Thrush, Redwing, Common Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Robin, Herring Gull, Jay, Mute Swan, Siskin, Starling, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie

Breeding birds
Great Crested Grebe, Mandarin Duck, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Coot, Mallard, Canada Goose, Moorhen