Nursery Row Park is a

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

Walworth Walworth () is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the Old ...

, London. It is located between Brandon, Stead and Orb Streets, and the

East Street Market East Street Market also known locally as 'The Lane', or 'East Lane', is a street market in Walworth in South East London. Location East Street is in the London Borough of Southwark and is between Walworth Road on the western side and the Ol ...

. It is in the

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas ...

History

The early history of the park is complicated, and difficult to establish with certainty. Walworth had been market gardens (hence ‘Nursery Row’), but was heavily built out for residential use in the 19th century. Until the 1980s, there was a commemorative fountain in the park. The inscription on that fountain (now lost) stated that the park was planned in 1885, making use of a grant from Lewis Isaacs, MP for the Walworth division of Newington. However, there are also records which indicate that the site was acquired in 1897, with funding provided by

James Bailey James Bailey may refer to: People Academics * James Bailey (classical scholar) (died 1864), English schoolmaster * J. O. Bailey (1903–1979), professor of literature * Jay Bailey (James E. Bailey, 1944–2001), American biochemical engineer and ...

, by then the MP for Walworth, the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

and the Vestry of St Mary Newington. The park was then planted and laid out by the

Metropolitan Public Gardens Association The Metropolitan Public Gardens Association (also known as the MPGA) is a charity in London for the purposes of the preservation of public parks and gardens, established in 1882. It facilitated the creation of new public open spaces, including f ...

; some of the London plane trees which were planted by the MPGA still survive. That initial park was called the East Street Recreation Ground, although by the 1970s it was known informally as the Old Swing Park. In 1980 the park was extended following the demolition of tenements and terraces on Blendon Row, Eltham Street and Nursery Row, and then renamed after the latter street. Part of the park was zoned for housing in the 2004 Southwark

Local Plan A development plan sets out a local authority's policies and proposals for land use in their area. The term is usually used in the United Kingdom. A Local Plan is one type of development plan. The development plan guides and shapes day-to-day dec ...

. These plans were cancelled in 2010. The park was renovated in 2006-07, when a meadow and central hill were introduced. The latter hides contaminated rubble. The renovation was undertaken by Farrer Huxley Associates architects and Anna French Associates landscape architects. The park includes two playground areas, a community orchard and a wildflower meadow.

Conservation

The park has been protected as a Field in Trust since 2013. There are no listed structures in the park.

Friends of Nursery Row Park

There is a Friends of Nursery Row Park organisation, established in 2007. In 2017 the Friends were incorporated as a

Community interest company A community interest company (CIC, colloquially pronounced "kick") is a type of company introduced by the United Kingdom government in 2005 under the Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Act 2004, designed for social ente ...

References

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