O R Tambo Recreation Ground

Albert Road, N22

• Opening times
• Facilities and accessibility
• About your park
• Planned improvements
• Report a problem
• Location and directions
• Events and activities

Opening times

The park doesn’t close at night.

Facilities and accessibility

Facilities

• Basketball
• Café
• Football – book a pitch (external link)
• Multi-use games area
• Playground
• Table tennis
• Tennis courts (for adults and children) – book online (external link)
• Toilets

For more information about the café, basketball and football, please visit Pavilion Sports & Café (external link).

Accessibility

All Haringey parks are accessible to wheelchair users

See more accessibility information on AccessAble (external link).

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About your park

Oliver Reginald Tambo

Previously known as Albert Road Recreation Ground, on 9 February 2021 the park was renamed O R Tambo Recreation Ground. This was in memory of the world-renowned South African anti-apartheid campaigner, Oliver Reginald Tambo.

Oliver Tambo lived in Haringey in exile for over two decades, settling with his family in Muswell Hill.

The South African High Commission gifted Haringey a bronze bust and statue of him which sits proudly within the Rec.

Park history

A century ago, the Rec was an area of land with a brook running through it and no housing nearby. The land around it was developed in the 1900s for housing.

In 1925, the Rec changed from an informal open space to a formal recreation ground.

Green flag award

First awarded the prestigious Green Flag Award in 2006, the park has kept it ever since.

• O.R. Tambo Recreation Ground - Green Flag report 2022 (PDF, 138KB)
• Albert Road Recreation Ground - Green Flag report 2019 (PDF, 100KB)

Pavilion Sports and Café

The much-loved Pavilion provides a community focal point often used for meetings and parties.

It’s home to Haringey Tennis (external link), an organisation that manages and takes bookings for the Rec’s tennis courts.

Find out about the Pavilion and what’s on:

• Pavilion Sports and Café website (external link)

Park management

Find out about how the park is managed:

• O R Tambo Recreation Ground Management Plan (PDF, 1.46MB)

Friends group

The Friends group was founded in 2001 by a number of volunteers. They all have a keen interest in improving the park and involving the local community.

Find out more and get involved (please note, the group is still known by the old park name of Albert Road Recreation Ground):

• Friends of O R Tambo Recreation Ground (external link)

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Planned improvements

We want to turn the play area into a space which:

• is accessible to all
• can adapt to different weather extremes
• offers shade and shelter
• improves access to the nature garden

Have your say on the plans by visiting the Commonplace website (external link) and giving us your feedback.

You can comment on the plans between 23 January and 5 March 2023.

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Report a problem

If you think there’s a problem with this park, please report it.

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