Creative Explorers

Monument to Samuel Rogers and Family

Hornsey · 0.1 miles

Chest tomb of the nonconformist Roger’s family of Stoke Newington. Samuel Roger’s was a celebrated Victorian poet who died in 1855 aged 92. Grade II listed.

Woodside Park

Bowes Park · 1.2 miles

Woodside Park offers a mix of open grass, mature trees and a range of amenities within the Wood Green area of north London, close to Bowes Park. The land originally formed part of the extensive Chitts Hill Estate and was largely developed as the grounds of Earlham Grove House in 1865. Among its early residents was philanthropist Catherine Smithies, founder of the Bands of Mercy animal-welfare group that later merged with the RSPCA. In 1893 the Wood Green local board of health acquired the house and an eleven-acre parcel, laying out a public park that featured a bandstand by 1914 – the structure was removed sometime between 1957 and 1973 – and a pavilion erected before 1935. Today the park retains a variety of facilities: a play area, a bowling club, a sensory garden and several notable buildings. George Meehan House, formerly Woodside House and before that Earlham Grove House, stands within the grounds, as does the Mushroom House (also called the Round House), the former gatehouse to Chitts Hill House built in 1822 and now Grade II listed. The old pavilion has been repurposed as a privately run children’s nursery, while the I Can Care Building provides services for Asian elderly residents and the Fatisa restaurant serves meals on site. No specific admission or opening-time information is supplied in the source material.

Downhills Park

Duckett's Green · 1.2 miles

Spanning roughly 12 hectares (about 30 acres), the green space on the edge of Wood Green and Tottenham provides a mix of open fields and a cultivated garden. The managed area includes a rose garden, alongside facilities for tennis and basketball, while the broader recreation ground accommodates informal sport and leisure. In 2006 the site earned the Green Flag Award, recognising its standards of maintenance and community value. Since July 2015 the park has also acted as a base for several local clubs, notably the Finsbury Park Rugby Football Club, the Og GAA and the Holloway Ladies Gaelic Football Team. The land’s history reaches back to a house called Downhills that existed before 1728. After being purchased by a private developer in 1881, building work only began at the turn of the century. Following a resident-led campaign, the Tottenham Urban District Council acquired the estate and its surrounding fields in 1901, retaining many original features while adding new amenities. Wartime bombing after 1939 led to the loss of several structures, and new children’s play equipment was installed by Haringey Council during the 1980s. The park lies nearest to Duckett’s Green and is freely accessible to the public, offering a blend of historic landscape and contemporary sport facilities.

Woodberry Wetlands

Woodberry Down · 1.9 miles

Woodberry Wetlands occupies the former East Reservoir in the Manor House area of the London Borough of Hackney, close to Woodberry Down and the Lee Valley. Designated as a Site of Metropolitan Importance, the 4.5 ha (11 acre) reserve opened to visitors on 1 May 2016 after a redevelopment that made the area freely accessible. Management is provided by the London Wildlife Trust on land owned by Thames Water, and dogs are not permitted. Facilities include a boardwalk that traverses the water-edge, a visitors’ centre housing a café, toilet amenities and a classroom, while the northern perimeter is bordered by the New River Path, forming part of the Wetlands to Wetlands Greenway cycle route that links to Walthamstow Wetlands. Opening times are published on the Trust’s listing. The site’s origins lie in the early 17th-century water-supply scheme authorised by King James I in 1604, when the New River was constructed to bring clean water from Hertfordshire and Middlesex to London. The reservoirs themselves were created in 1833, their banks once lined with stone salvaged from the demolition of London Bridge. Today the East Reservoir temporarily stores water before it is processed at the Walthamstow Reservoirs, while the adjacent west reservoir functions as a water-sports centre. Ecologically, the wetlands serve as a resting point for migratory waterfowl such as pochard, shoveler and gadwall, and support resident species including grey heron, reed bunting, kingfisher, damselflies, dragonflies, amphibians and bats. An expansion of reed beds, undertaken by the Trust, aims to enhance habitat for reed bunting, reed warbler and overwintering bittern.

Karl Marx

Hornsey Rise · 1.9 miles

A Grade I listed monument stands in the Eastern part of Highgate Cemetery, North London, close to Hornsey Rise. The memorial, dedicated to Karl Marx, his wife Jenny von Westphalen and other family members, consists of a large bronze bust of Marx’s head and shoulders set on a marble plinth. The front of the plinth bears the closing line of *The Communist Manifesto* – “Workers of all lands unite” – while the side panels display further quotations and the dates of birth and death for those interred. The bodies were originally laid to rest elsewhere in the Eastern cemetery after Marx’s death on 14 March 1883. In 1954 the Marx Memorial Committee secured an exhumation licence and, during the night of 26/27 November, the remains of Marx, his wife, daughter Eleanor, grandson Harry Longuet and housekeeper Helene Demuth were moved about 100 yards to the present site. Laurence Bradshaw designed the new tomb, and the Communist Party of Great Britain funded its construction. The memorial was unveiled on 15 March 1956 in a ceremony led by the party’s General Secretary, Harry Pollitt. Entry to Highgate Cemetery is controlled by the Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust, which charges an admission fee to support upkeep; the tomb itself is owned by the Marx Grave Trust. The site has experienced several acts of vandalism, including painted swastikas in 1960, bomb attempts in the 1970s, blue paint in 2011 and attacks in February 2019. In response, 24-hour video surveillance has been installed around the monument. Visitors can reach the cemetery via public transport to the nearby Hornsey Rise area and follow the designated pathways to the memorial.

Warwick Reservoir West

Stamford Hill · 2.5 miles

West Warwick Reservoir is located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest at Walthamstow. The storage reservoir is part of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain, which supplies drinking water to London. It is owned by Thames Water.