Coram's Fields is a seven acre

urban open space In land-use planning, urban green space is open-space areas reserved for parks and other "green spaces", including plant life, water features -also referred to as blue spaces- and other kinds of natural environment. Most urban open spaces are ...

in the Kings Cross area of the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and St ...

. Adults are only permitted to enter if accompanied by children.

History

The park is situated on the former site of the Foundling Hospital, established by

Thomas Coram Captain Thomas Coram (c. 1668 – 29 March 1751) was an English sea captain and philanthropist who created the London Foundling Hospital in Lamb's Conduit Fields, Bloomsbury, to look after abandoned children on the streets of London. It is said ...

in what was then named Lamb's Conduit Field in 1739. In the 1920s The Foundling Hospital was relocated outside London to

Ashlyns School Ashlyns School is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. The school was established in 1935 as the final location of the Foundling Hospital, a children's charity founded in London in 1739. The ...

Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, and the site was earmarked for redevelopment. However, a campaign organised by

Janet Trevelyan Janet Penrose Trevelyan, CH (''née'' Ward; 6 November 1879 – 7 September 1956) was a British writer, social campaigner, and fundraiser. Biography Trevelyan was born Janet Penrose Ward in Oxford on 6 November 1879. She was the daughter of ar ...

and fundraising by local residents and a donation from

Harold Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere, (26 April 1868 – 26 November 1940) was a leading British newspaper proprietor who owned Associated Newspapers Ltd. He is best known, like his brother Alfred Harmsworth, later Viscount Nort ...

led to the creation of the current park that opened in 1936.

Services and facilities

Coram's Fields provides services for children and young people in the local community, including an after school and holiday programme, a sports programme, a youth centre and an early years programme which includes a nursery and drop-in. The park includes three eight-a-side football pitches, two tennis courts, a stickball field, a basketball court, a children's playground,

sand pit A sandpit (most Commonwealth countries) or sandbox (US and Canada) is a low, wide container or shallow depression filled with soft (beach) sand in which children can play. Sharp sand (as used in the building industry) is not suitable for s ...

s, a pets corner and a

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non ...

Neighbourhood

To the west is

Brunswick Square Brunswick Square is a public garden and ancillary streets along two of its sides in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. It is overlooked by the School of Pharmacy and the Foundling Museum to the north; the Brunswick Centre to the w ...

, and to the east is

Mecklenburgh Square Mecklenburgh Square is a Grade II listed square in Bloomsbury, London. The square and its garden were part of the Foundling Estate, a residential development of 1792–1825 on fields surrounding and owned by the Foundling Hospital. The square was ...

(bordered by

Goodenough College Goodenough College is a postgraduate residence and educational trust in Mecklenburgh Square in Bloomsbury, central London, England. Other names under which the college has been known are London House, William Goodenough House, and the London Go ...

to the south), two historical London squares. To the north is the Thomas Coram Foundation and St George's Gardens. To the south are

Guilford Street Guilford Street is a road in Bloomsbury in central London, England, designated the B502. From Russell Square it extends east-northeast to Gray's Inn Road. Note that it is not spelt the same way as Guildford in Surrey. It is, in fact, named after ...

and

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospit ...

. The

Thomas Coram Foundation for Children The Thomas Coram Foundation for Children is a large children's charity in London which uses the working name Coram (formerly Coram Family). It originated as part of England's oldest children's charity, the Foundling Hospital, established by ro ...

(the successor charity to the Foundling Hospital) and the

Foundling Museum The Foundling Museum in Brunswick Square, London tells the story of the Foundling Hospital, Britain's first home for children at risk of abandonment. The museum houses the nationally important Foundling Hospital Collection as well as the Gerald ...

housing the art collections of the former Hospital, are based in buildings nearby.

Management and planning designations

Coram's Fields is owned and run by an independent registered charity, officially named Coram's Fields and the Harmsworth Memorial Playground. Coram's Fields, and Brunswick and Mecklenburgh Squares are jointly listed Grade II on the

Register of Historic Parks and Gardens The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...

References

External links

{{official website, http://www.coramsfields.org/ Buildings and structures completed in 1936 Urban public parks Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Camden City farms in London Foundling Hospital Grade II listed parks and gardens in London