Hammersmith Park, known to many locals as "The BBC Park" is a public park in the

London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham () is a London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan Boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham. The borou ...

. It includes a Japanese Garden, a gated children's play area, tennis courts and football pitches run by Play Football. Despite its name, it is located in

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, i ...

, not Hammersmith.

History

Origins

Hammersmith Park is sited on the remains of an original Japanese garden designed for the

Japan–British Exhibition The took place at White City, London in Great Britain from 14 May 1910 to 29 October 1910. It was the largest international exposition that the Empire of Japan had ever participated in and was driven by a desire of Japan to develop a more favora ...

in 1910. The area, known as the Great

White City White City may refer to: Places Australia * White City, Perth, an amusement park on the Perth foreshore * White City railway station, a former railway station * White City Stadium (Sydney), a tennis centre in Sydney * White City FC, a football clu ...

, was initially developed for

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

and was subsequently used for a series of international exhibitions until

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Little sign of the 1910 Japan–British Exhibition remains today, but the Chokushimon (Gateway of the Imperial Messenger, a four-fifths replica of the

Karamon The is a type of gate seen in Japanese architecture. It is characterized by the usage of ''karahafu'', an undulating bargeboard peculiar to Japan. ''Karamon'' are often used at the entrances of Japanese castles, Buddhist temples and Shinto sh ...

Nishi Hongan-ji is a Jōdo Shinshū Buddhist temple in the Shimogyō ward of Kyoto, Japan. It serves as the head temple of the sub-sect Honganji-ha. It is one of two Jōdo Shinshū temple complexes in Kyoto, the other being Higashi Hongan-ji, which is the ...

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

) was moved to

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

in 1911, where it still can be seen.

1950s

In November 1954 tennis courts and a playground were added. The remainder of the park opened in September 1955.www.londongardensonline.org.uk
Retrieved January 2014

Hammersmith Park today

The Garden of Peace remains intact within Hammersmith Park; it was restored in 2008. The garden is set among bamboo and pagoda trees, and consists of two large ponds which are linked by a stone bridge. Rocks surround the garden, forming a small waterfall. A number of the original plants and trees brought from Japan in 1909 still survive. In 2013 the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham announced plans, initially proposed in 2011, to demolish the existing sports facilities and replace them with football pitches, run by the privately owned company Play Football. Despite opposition from some local residents, led local author and journalist

Virginia Ironside Virginia Ironside (born 3 February 1944) is a British journalist, agony aunt and author. Born in London, she is the daughter of Christopher Ironside, painter and coin designer, and Janey Ironside who was the first professor of fashion design at t ...

, seeking

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incompat ...

of the decision on the basis of inadequate public consultation, the plans went ahead. In 2018, the Japan Society and Embassy of Japan, with support of local and Japanese businesses, added an authentic Japanese gateway and avenue of traditional Japanese stone lanterns to the park. In 2020 Hammersmith Park's Japanese Garden ranked No 9 in a "Tranquility Index" of London.Shepherd's Bush Blog
Retrieved 2 January 2020

Gallery

File:Japanese_Gateway_at_Hammersmith_Park.jpg, Hammersmith Park Japanese Gateway, September 2019 File:Japanese Garden feature - Hammersmith Park, W12 - geograph.org.uk - 922613.jpg, Bridge in Japanese Garden at Hammersmith Park File:Japanese Garden at Hammersmith Park.jpg, Japanese Garden at Hammersmith Park File:Trees at Hammersmith Park.jpg, Trees at Hammersmith Park File:Japanese Garden at Hammersmith Park, September 2019.jpg, Japanese Garden at Hammersmith Park File:View of TVCentre at Hammersmith Park.jpg, View of TV Centre at Hammersmith Park File:Turtle play area at Hammersmith Park.jpg, Turtle play area at Hammersmith Park File:Waterfall_at_Hammersmith_Park.jpg, Waterfall in the Japanese Garden File:Japanese Gate at Hammersmith Park.jpg, Japanese Gate at Hammersmith Park

References

''Municipal Parks, Gardens, and Open Spaces of London''
by John James Sexby, published by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

Retrieved 13 January 2020

Notes

{{reflist, 2

External links

www.yelp.co.uk
Retrieved January 2014
www.londongardensonline.org.uk
Retrieved January 2014
Shepherd's Bush Blog
Retrieved October 2014 Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham