Paterson Park is located in

Bermondsey Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, a ...

, in central South East London, and is managed by 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 ...

. It was formally opened in 1953.

Origins

What is now Paterson Park was built out as railway sidings into the

Bricklayers Arms Bricklayers Arms is the road intersection of the A2 and the London Inner Ring Road where Bermondsey meets Walworth and Elephant & Castle in south London. It is the junction of Tower Bridge Road, Old Kent Road, New Kent Road and Great Dove ...

goods station in 1844. Some of the sidings were bombed during the war, and not rebuilt. It was one of the many bomb sites in London that became a children’s playground after the war, including an informal

cycle speedway Cycle speedway is a form of bicycle racing on short oval dirt tracks, usually outdoors, occasionally indoors, typically 70–90 metres long. Like motorcycle speedway, riders use machines without brakes or multiple gears but, unlike motor speedwa ...

track. The park was formally opened in 1953, by the former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...

, and named after the prison reformer Sir Alexander Paterson. Attlee and Paterson had met at

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

. Both were involved in boys’ clubs in slum areas of London. Paterson spent 21 years living in Bermondsey, initially with John Stansfeld’s Oxford Medical Mission. When he enlisted in

WWI 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 ...

, he did so with the Bermondsey Battalion (the Queens) of the London Regiment. As formally laid out in 1953, the park included a paddling pool and a purpose-built cycle speedway. The park was the home cycle speedway track for the Lynton Lynx, named for the adjacent street.

Later History and Reduction in Size

Although the park was extended after the goods station was closed in 1981, it was poorly maintained. A campaign began in 1999 for a new secondary school in Southwark. The only suitable location identified was land on and adjacent to Paterson Park. By this time, park maintenance was such that education campaigners were able to describe the park as disused. In 2002, the

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...

Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of London from the creation of the office i ...

directed the refusal of planning permission for the school, as to do so would result in a loss of

Metropolitan Open Land "Metropolitan Open Land" or "MOL" is a term or designation used only within London. Land designated MOL is afforded the same level of protection as the Metropolitan Green Belt. Designation is intended to protect areas of landscape, recreation, natu ...

. Southwark

Local Education Authority Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...

subsequently identified two additional nearby parcels of land to offer as alternate open space, thereby permitting the retention of some of the park, and planning permission was then granted. This was then the subject of an unsuccessful judicial review in 2003 by a local resident, Karen Lambert.

City of London Academy, Southwark City of London Academy, Southwark is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in the Bermondsey area of the London Borough of Southwark, England. The school was first opened in 2003 and moved to a new buil ...

opened in 2005, with the sports facilities being available for community use.

Facilities and Features

The park was reopened in 2007 by the

Mayor 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 are ...

, Councillor Paul Kyriacou. On the northern perimeter of the park are some allotments, which are managed by the Bermondsey and Rotherhithe Allotment Society. There is a children’s playground in the centre of the park. In addition to the sports facilities at the City of London Academy, there is a MUGA (multi-use games area) which is predominantly used for basketball. The centerpiece of the restored park is ''Cloud Canopy'', by Southwark-based American-born sculptor Randy Klein, now known as

Rafael Klein Rafael Klein also known as Randy Klein (born 1949 New York City) is a British American artist, living and working in London. Klein studied at the Art Students League of New York. His work includes painting, sculpture, and artists’ books. His fir ...

References

{{coord, 51.489, -0.068, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Southwark Bermondsey 1953 establishments in the United Kingdom