Gladstone Park, London

[3] It was chiefly the loss of sports grounds at Neasden by the arrival of the Great Central Railway towards the end of the 19th century that motivated local public backing for a new park at Dollis Hill.

Hence, there was very strong support at Neasden for the idea that the District Council should buy from the Finch family the part of their estate that lay south of Dollis Hill Lane, for £50,000.

Despite some reservations by local Conservatives, on 12 December 1899 it was formally agreed to name the park after William Ewart Gladstone, the old Prime Minister who had died the previous year, and who had spent many happy hours there.

The Earl of Rosebery, recently twice Prime Minister, had promised to perform the opening ceremony on Saturday 25 May 1901, but was prevented from attending by the death of his mother.

Once it had been agreed that Gladstone Park should become a reality, the main planning was handed over to Oliver Claude Robson, the District Council Surveyor who was to serve for 43 years, from 1875 to 1918.

Robson's first major pleasure ground project had been the nearby Roundwood Park which had opened in 1895, and where he had to convert poorly drained farmland.

It was decided to leave the northern part of new park in its "original and natural beauty", and devote the section south of the railway to sports.

Robson had little laying out work to do but provided boundary fencing, a children's playground (gymnasium), 103 seats, conveniences, stabling, pavilions for football and cricket clubs, water supply, and 2900 feet of roadways.

Gladstone Park has a formal garden, duck pond, varied terrain, woodland, hedgerows and open ground, all of which change with the seasons.

In 2016 the Council, police and local charities carried out several initiatives to deal with large numbers of people sleeping rough in the park.

[7] Following the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests Brent Council considered renaming the park due to William Gladstone's push for compensation for slave owners at abolition, including his father.

[9] Instead a public artwork titled The Anchor, The Drum, The Ship by Black artist Harun Morrison was created in the park to acknowledge the legacies of the slave trade.