Mabley Green is a sizeable piece of common land in

Hackney Wick Hackney Wick is a neighbourhood in east London, England. The area forms the south-eastern part of the district of Hackney, and also of the wider London Borough of Hackney. Adjacent areas of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets are sometimes a ...

in the east of the

London Borough of Hackney London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

measuring 35.5 acres (144,000 m²). Originally it was part of a continuous land mass on both sides of the

Lee Navigation The Lee Navigation is a canalised river incorporating the River Lea (also called the River Lee along the sections that are navigable). It flows from Hertford Castle Weir to the River Thames at Bow Creek; its first lock is Hertford Lock and its ...

that formed the

Hackney Marshes Hackney Marshes is an area of open space in London's Lower Lea Valley, lying on the western bank of the River Lea. It takes its name from its position on the eastern boundary of Hackney, the principal part of the London Borough of Hackney, and ...

. in 1915 a piece of the Marshes was taken to create the National Projectile Factory and after

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 ...

, in 1922, this site was used to create the Mabley Green recreation ground. It has an all-weather

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

pitch, an

outdoor gym The outdoor gym is a gym built outside in a public park, with the all-weather construction of its exercise machines somewhat modeled on playground equipment. It is similar to the 1960s–1970s proliferation of fitness trails, which continue to ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

hoops. The large and distinctive rock in the centre of the park was placed there in 2008 as part of an art project. It is designed as a

rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

bouldering Bouldering is a form of free climbing that is performed on small rock formations or artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or harnesses. While bouldering can be done without any equipment, most climbers use climbing shoes to help sec ...

challenge, having several routes of varying difficulty. It can also be viewed as a piece of sculpture. The stone weighs around 60 tonnes and was quarried in Cornwall. To ensure adequate provision of football pitches while the East Marsh was being used for Olympic coach parking, the majority of Mabley Green was taken up with football pitches. Most of these are due to be removed from Mabley Green once the East Marsh pitches are restored during 2014. The User Group constitution expresses the ambition to be the UK's first edible park with fruit and nut trees and bushes available for all to enjoy. As part of a consultation process with the council, these plans are currently being considered along with plans to add another all-weather pitch.

References

{{reflist, 2 Areas of London 1922 establishments in England Protected areas established in 1922 Hackney Wick