Southwark Park is located in
Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe () is a district of south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, as well as the Isle of D ...
, in central South East London, England, 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 first opened in 1869 by the
Metropolitan Board of Works
The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the principal instrument of local government in a wide area of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, defined by the Metropolis Management Act 1855, from December 1855 until the establishment of the London Cou ...
as one of its first parks. It was designed by Alexander McKenzie and covers . It takes its name from being in what was the old Parliamentary constituency of Southwark at the time of its opening.
It received £2.5 million from the National Lottery's
Heritage Lottery Fund
The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom.
History
The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
in 1998 which enabled large parts of the park to be refurbished. The park is protected by
Fields in Trust through a legal "Deed of Dedication" safeguarding the future of the space as public recreation land for
future generations
Future generations are cohorts of hypothetical people not yet born. Future generations are contrasted with current and past generations, and evoked in order to encourage thinking about intergenerational equity. The moral patienthood of future g ...
to enjoy.
Gardens
The Old English Cottage Garden was originally named for Lt-Col
JJ Sexby
John James Sexby VD (known as JJ Sexby) (15 July 1847 – 10 May 1924) was a British civil servant who served as the first Chief Officer for Parks for the London County Council from 1892 to 1909, and was responsible for the creation of many of Lo ...
, first Parks Superintendent for 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 ...
. The idea for the rose garden came from Dr
Alfred Salter, Member of Parliament for
West Bermondsey. It was opened in 1936 and was named after
Ada Salter when she died in 1942. A "Tree of Heaven" (
''Ailanthus Glandulosa'') is also planted there, which had a symbolic meaning in relation to Salter's
Quaker beliefs.
Facilities and activities
The bandstand dates from 1884 and was originally sited in the
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...
grounds at
South Kensington
South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...
. It has a sister in
Peckham Rye Park
Peckham Rye is an open space and road in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England. The roughly triangular open space lies to the south of Peckham town centre. It is managed by Southwark Council and consists of two contiguous areas, wit ...
. Other facilities include a cafe, a wildlife garden, a boating lake and Southwark Park Galleries, which has a year-round programme over two galleries. Sports facilities include an athletics track run by Fusion, a bowling green, football pitches, a cricket pitch and tennis courts. The park also has a contained children's playground with swings, a slide and other small rides. The park is also home to Southwark
parkrun
Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...
, one of the many free, weekly 5k runs held in both the UK and internationally. It is held every Saturday at 9.00am (localtime).
There are "Friends of Southwark Park" and "Young Friends of Southwark Park" groups to encourage the community to get involved in the management of their park. The Friends of Southwark Park is a non-party-political community organisation, recognised by the London Borough of Southwark. Its primary role is to liaise with, and encourage the council to look after the parks in the interests of the people who use them.
In 2018 a new group, the Southwark Park Association 1869, was formed to further the park's aims and objectives.
Trees
As with many spaces within London, the Plane tree (''
Platanus x hispanica'') is dominant within Southwark Park, particularly the northernmost section around the bandstand, which runs next to Jamaica Road.
However, the park is also rich in trees less common in London. Opposite the entrance to the art gallery is a walnut tree (''
Juglans regia
''Juglans regia'', the Persian walnut, English walnut, Carpathian walnut, Madeira walnut, or especially in Great Britain, common walnut, is an Old World walnut tree species native to the region stretching from the Balkans eastward to the Himala ...
'') and a series of three or four silver maples (''
Acer saccharinum
''Acer saccharinum'', commonly known as silver maple, creek maple, silverleaf maple, soft maple, large maple, water maple, swamp maple, or white maple, is a species of maple native to the eastern and central United States and southeastern Can ...
''). There is as also a red oak (''
Quercus rubra'') close to these maples. Next to the duck pond and the garden area are three swamp cypresses (''
Taxodium distichum
''Taxodium distichum'' (bald cypress, swamp cypress; french: cyprès chauve;
''cipre'' in Louisiana) is a deciduous conifer in the family Cupressaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States. Hardy and tough, this tree adapts to a wide r ...
''), although without the distinctive wooden 'knees' which sometimes surround trees of this variety.
Transport
There are three London Overground stations (formerly on the
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The ...
network's
East London Line) and two London Underground stations (one sharing with the London Overground) located near the edges of Southwark Park. In clockwise order starting from the west, they are:
*
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 ...
(
Jubilee line
The Jubilee line is a London Underground line that runs between in east London and in the suburban north-west, via the Docklands, South Bank and West End. Opened in 1979, it is the newest line on the Underground network, although some secti ...
)
*
Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe () is a district of south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, as well as the Isle of D ...
(
London Overground
London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...
)
*
Canada Water
Canada Water is an area of the Docklands in south-east London. It is named after a freshwater lake and wildlife refuge. Canada Water tube, Overground and bus station is immediately north of the lake, along with Canada Water Library which ov ...
(London Overground and Jubilee line)
*
Surrey Quays
Surrey Quays is a largely residential area of Rotherhithe in south-east London, occupied until 1970 by the Surrey Commercial Docks. Previously known as Surrey Docks, the area was renamed following the construction of the Surrey Quays shopping ce ...
(London Overground)
Local buses 47, 188, 381, C10 and P12 buses serve the park between the two Jamaica Road entrances. At night the park is served by N199 and N381 buses, while the 47 and 188 buses runs a 24-hour service.
The P12 also serves the park as it travels along Southwark Park Road and stops near the entrance there. There is also a small side entrance beside Kirby Estate, just adjacent to Southwark Park Road and close to Jamaica Road.
Local buses 1, 199 and N1, as well as the 225, 381 and P12 buses stop nearby the park along Lower Road, at Surrey Quays Station, near the Lower Road entrance and near where Rotherhithe Police Station used to be, across from Gomm Road, where another entrance to the park is at the end of it.
The 1 and 381 buses, along with their night routes; N1 and N381 also stop at Warndon Street, on Rotherhithe New Road. This is the closest stop to the Hawkstone Road entrance.
Image gallery
File:Southwark Park Autumn Leaves.JPG, Autumn leaves
File:Southwark Park Boating Pond Wildlife.JPG, Wildlife
File:Southwark Park Bowling Green Wildlife.JPG, Wildlife
File:Southwark Park Evening Shadows.JPG, Evening
File:Heinkel He 111 over Wapping, East London.jpg, German warplane over Southwark Park
References
External links
Southwark Park Association 1869Southwark Park athletics stadiumSouthwark Park Cricket Club
{{coord, 51.495, -0.056, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title
Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Southwark
Rotherhithe