Tower Bridge taken from Potters Fields Park (geograph 2418763)

Potters Fields Park is a small public

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 ...

situated 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 ...

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The park is located immediately south-west of

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed combined Bascule bridge, bascule and Suspended-deck suspension bridge, suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones (architect), Horace Jones and e ...

and immediately south-east of

City Hall, London City Hall, London may refer to: *City Hall, London (Newham), a building in Newham that has been the headquarters of the Greater London Authority since 2022 *City Hall, London (Southwark), a building in Southwark that was the headquarters of the Grea ...

. It is frequently used for food festivals and other events. The name originates from the many potters who lived and worked in the area in the 17th and 18th centuries. The land has never been a

Potter's field A potter's field, paupers' grave or common grave is a place for the burial of unknown, unclaimed or indigent people. "Potter's field" is of Biblical origin, referring to Akeldama (meaning ''field of blood'' in Aramaic), stated to have been pu ...

(a burial ground for the poor), although there were graveyards in the area.

History

The first named pottery in the Potters Fields Park records is Pickleherring Pottery. It was established in 1618 by Christian Wilhelm; in the 1670s and 1680s, at least two other potteries were established by other people in the same area. On the 1682 William Morgan Map, the area is referred to as "Potts Fields"; the St Olave's Parish Register shows 124 Potters operating in the area between 1618 and 1710. The number was down to 68 between 1710 and 1733. The Rocques Map of 1746 shows "Potters Fields" as a street name for the lane linking

Tooley Street Tooley Street is a road in central and south London connecting London Bridge to St Saviour's Dock; it runs past Tower Bridge on the Southwark/Bermondsey side of the River Thames, and forms part of the A200 road. (.) St Olave The earliest nam ...

to Pickleherring Street. By 1772 pottery making had disappeared from the area. In 1988 St Martin's Property Corporation and Southwark Council agreed on the name "London Bridge City Park", but local community groups protested and it finally opened as "Potters Fields Park".

References

External links

Potters Fields Park web site
Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Southwark {{London-geo-stub