Victoria Park, Finchley

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Victoria Park is an area of open space in Church End Finchley in North London. It covers 7 hectares (17.29 acres). It is situated on Ballards Lane and is close to West Finchley tube station. It was opened in 1902 and was intended to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and was the first public park of the former borough of Finchley.

It is popular among local office workers as well as the general population. The Finchley Carnival is held within Victoria Park every July, with theme park-type rides, a carnival procession, and a car show. There is a large fair usually with a different yearly theme (Turkish and Greek in 2007, and Deep Sea Diving in 2006). Due to local bylaws fair rides must travel at a maximum speed of 30 miles per hour - which results in a slightly tame atmosphere, however the yearly procession is always popular with locals.

Within the park there are playgrounds, ornamental gardens, playing fields, a bowling club, for which membership is required, six public tennis courts, and a cafe open seven days a week.

The park is very close to a parade of shops and also West Finchley's local police station, there is also an old people's home a stones throw away.

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Victoria Park achieved a Green Flag Award for 2007-2008. The Green Flag Award Scheme is run by The Civic Trust and is intended to be the benchmark against which the quality of public parks and green spaces can be measured. It also recognises the diversity and value of green space to the local community.

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Coordinates: 51°36′12″N 0°11′02″W / 51.6033, -0.1838

The famous victoria gates at the Ballards Lane entrance were taken down during World War 2 and used as scrap iron to make guns on the battleship Ark Royal. They were replaced in 1946, with the gates that are now present. There was a competition in 1945 carried out by Barnet Borough council to find a designer for the new gates - there were 5 shortlisted artists.