Holland Park - Holland Park (public Park)

Holland Park (public Park)

Holland Park is about 22 hectares (54 acres) in area and is considered one of the most romantic and peaceful parks of West London. The northern half or so of the park is semi-wild woodland, the central section around the ruins of Holland House is more formal with several garden areas, and the southernmost section is used for sport. Holland House is now a fragmentary ruin, having been devastated by incendiary bombing in 1940, but the ruins and the grounds were bought by London County Council in 1952 from the last private owner, the 6th Earl of Ilchester. The park contains a famous Orangery, a giant chess set, a cricket pitch, tennis courts, a Japanese garden, a youth hostel, one of London's best equipped children's playgrounds, squirrels and (impressively for a London park) peacocks. In 2010, the park set aside a part which is home to pigs, their job over the next 12 months is to reclaim the area from nettles etc., in order to create another meadow area for wild flowers and fauna. Today the remains of the house form a backdrop for the open air Holland Park Theatre, which is the home of Opera Holland Park. The green-roofed Commonwealth Institute lies to the south.