Springfield Park is a park in

Upper Clapton Clapton is a district of East London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. Clapton is divided into Upper Clapton, in the north, and Lower Clapton to the south. Clapton railway station lies north-east of Charing Cross. Geography and origi ...

in 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 ...

. Spring Hill Recreation Ground, immediately to the north of the park, is an additional amenity. The Recreation Ground is also managed by the local authority and together they comprise a continuous public open space. Springfield Park was formed in 1905 from the grounds of three private houses, one of which still survives as a cafe. It is a local nature reserve.

Topography and environs

The park occupies and slopes from the high ground on the edge of

Stamford Hill Stamford Hill is an area in Inner London, England, about 5.5 miles north-east of Charing Cross. The neighbourhood is a sub-district of Hackney, the major component of the London Borough of Hackney, and is known for its Hasidic community, the l ...

to the towpath of the

River 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 (England), Bow Creek; its first lock is H ...

on the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in South East England. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Creek. It is one of t ...

. Situated on the other side of the river/navigation to the park is

Springfield Marina Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

, a large basin for

narrow boat A narrowboat is a particular type of canal boat, built to fit the narrow locks of the United Kingdom. The UK's canal system provided a nationwide transport network during the Industrial Revolution, but with the advent of the railways, commer ...

s. The park is also adjacent to the Lea Rowing Club and Spring Hill Recreation Ground, which is used by Hackney Rugby Club. The higher ground of the park affords views over

Walthamstow Marshes Walthamstow Marshes, is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Walthamstow in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It was once an area of lammas land – common land used for growing crops and grazing cattle. In aviation histo ...

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

and

Epping Forest Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London ...

History

The

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

era Springfield House stands near the main entrance to the park on a road known simply as Springfield. It was a private residence well before the surroundings were given over to housing in the mid-Victorian period. The park area remained intact as a private estate until 1902 when the house and land went up for sale.Crowe, Andrew — ''The Parks and Woodlands of London'' (Fourth Estate, 1987) A group of local businessmen saved the park when it went up for auction and eventually 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 ...

took over responsibility for the park and it opened to the public on 5 August 1905.

Roman sarcophagi In the burial practices of ancient Rome and Roman funerary art, marble and limestone sarcophagi elaborately carved in relief were characteristic of elite inhumation burials from the 2nd to the 4th centuries AD. At least 10,000 Roman sarcophagi ...

were found during building and landscaping work in the nineteenth century at the park along with pottery and other burials. The Hackney Boat, being the remains of a late

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

logboat A dugout canoe or simply dugout is a boat made from a hollowed tree. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. ''Monoxylon'' (''μονόξυλον'') (pl: ''monoxyla'') is Greek – ''mono-'' (single) + '' ξύλον xylon'' (t ...

were found close by in 1987. The original boat and replica are on display in Hackney Museum. As well as Springfield House, there were two other large houses on the estate, 'Springhill House' and 'The Chestnuts'. They had to be demolished due to their deteriorating condition when the council took them over. A road called Spring Lane ran through the estate but this was re-routed along the Lee and now forms part of the tow-path walk. The area now occupied by the park formerly included a feature known as 'Giles Dock' which may have been associated with nearby tile yards. This facility is visible on an Estate Map of 1774, still present in the 1868 Ordnance Survey map but had been filled in by 1896 - possibly as part of the 1876 works to straighten the river in this area.

Facilities

Sports facilities include five tennis courts, a bowling green and grounds for rugby, cricket and other sports on the wide flat area by the river. The park is home to Hackney Rugby Club, and planning has begun on a replacement for the rugby side's clubhouse, which was burnt down in April 1999. The Spark Cafe is housed in Springfield House, now known locally as the White House Mansion. Near the house is a large conservatory which was open to the public but has since been closed. There is a large pond and ornamental gardens with fountains and a children's playground as well as a bandstand. Th
Springfield Park Restoration Project
aims to restore and improve many aspects of the park, with work due to start in summer 2019. The

Capital Ring The Capital Ring is a strategic walking route promoted by London's 33 local councils, led by the City of London Corporation in partnership with the Greater London Authority and its functional body for regional transport, Transport for London, ...

, a circular walking route around London, passes through the park on the section from

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...

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 ...

, and the distinctive green signs can be seen in the park. Another walking route, the

Lea Valley Walk The Lea Valley Walk is a long-distance path located between Leagrave, the source of the River Lea near Luton, and the Thames, at Limehouse Basin, Limehouse, east London. From its source much of the walk is rural. At Hertford the path follows t ...

, is close by and can be accessed via the River Lee towpath. The park received a

Green Flag award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...

in July 2008.''Hackney Today'' 188 21 July 2008

Springfield Park community orchard

The small

community orchard A community orchard is a collection of fruit trees shared by communities and growing in publicly accessible areas such as public greenspaces, parks, schools, churchyards, allotments or, in the US, abandoned lots. Such orchards are a shared re ...

contains varieties of local apple trees, including examples rescued from Hackney gardens. There is also a

medlar ''Mespilus germanica'', known as the medlar or common medlar, is a large shrub or small tree in the rose family Rosaceae. The fruit of this tree, also called medlar, has been cultivated since Roman times, is usually available in winter and ea ...

tree and an

olive tree The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'M ...

References

External links

Hackney Rugby Club

Lea Rowing Club

Spark Cafe
{{coord, 51.571, -0.058, type:landmark_region:GB-HCK, display=title Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Hackney Local nature reserves in Greater London Nature reserves in the London Borough of Hackney Clapton, London