Welcome to Friary Park
The Local Area
The area now occupied by Friary Park may well be the site of the earliest settlement in Friern Barnet – the parish church of St James is first mentioned in 1198. It was originally part of the Manor of Freren Barnet which was owned by the Bishop of London whose palace was in Fulham. The land in the area was of poor quality and was only suitable for the growing of grass which was supplied to London as hay. Until 1300 Friern Barnet Lane formed part of the main road to the north but then the Bishop of London allowed a new road to be driven through his land to the west and on higher ground. This became known as the Great North Road and from that date Friern Barnet declined in importance.
Friary House
In 1551 the Bailiff, Richard Clark, was ordered to build a mansion which included a hall, parlour and chambers. He died before it was completed and it was taken over by his son, William, who became the first tenant.
A house has been on the site ever since and among the occupants was Sir John Popham, the Lord Chief Justice who became famous for trying both Sir Walter Raleigh and Guy Fawkes. It is likely that Queen Elizabeth stayed at the house as Popham’s guest on 10 June 1594. By the time of the 1665 Hearth Tax its owner, Sir William Gomvill, was taxed for 17 hearths. In the early 1700s Queen Anne was the guest of a Dr King who was then a resident of the house.
In 1800 John Bacon bought the house and the estate and when he died, leaving his affairs in a mess, it was taken over by his son, also John. He went bankrupt in 1824 and the next purchaser, Thomas Bensley, died in 1835. The Friary Estate was then bought by Edmund William Richardson, then Company Secretary of the Planet Building Society, who built the current house in 1871. He died in December 1908.
In July 1948, in response to the national housing shortage, flats were created on the top two floors of the house. In 2003 the offices occupied by London Borough of Barnet Occupational Health were given over to an elderly persons’ day centre and a Citizens’ Advice Bureau. At the same time a glazed walkway at the side of the house with a ramp was installed.
In 2010 a number of local organisations moved into the house – Barnet Asian Womens’ Association, BAWA Jagruti Mental Health Project, Barnet Elderly Asians group, Iranian Community Centre, Oshwal Association and Barnet Lone Parent Group. In November 2015 Community Focus moved in from its previous home at the artsdepot at North Finchley.