Victoria Park (known colloquially as Vicky Park or the People's Park) is a park in the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and ...

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

, England. It is the largest park in Tower Hamlets and one of London's most visited green spaces with approximately 9 million visitors each year. The park spans of open space and opened to the public in 1845.

Park

Location

Victoria Park is situated towards the north-eastern edge of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is bordered by

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...

to the west, Bow to the south and

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, namely Fish I ...

to the east. It is bordered by the

London Borough of Hackney The London Borough of Hackney ( ) is a London boroughs, London borough in Inner London, England. The historical and administrative heart of Hackney is Mare Street, which lies north-east of Charing Cross. The borough is named after Hackney, Lond ...

to the north. Grove Road (A1205) crosses through Victoria Park, and as a result the areas on either side of the road may be designated as the 'east' or 'west' of the park. There are numerous gates around the park, for pedestrians, bicycles and motor vehicles. Facilities There are public toilets within the park. There are two cafes in the park – The Pavilion Cafe in the west and The Hub in the east. There is a weekly food market and other seasonal market events. There are two children's playgrounds, one on either side of the park, as well as sporting facilities and a

skatepark A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, Freestyle scootering, scootering, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairw ...

in the east. The park is home to many historic artifacts and features and has decorative gardens and wilder natural areas as well as open grass lands. It also hosts a

lawn bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

club. There are two lakes within the park which are home to various wildlife, as well as a model boating lake. There is also a historical bandstand, which hosts an annual summer programme of free performances. Since the 2006

Lovebox Festival Lovebox is a three-day music festival. In 2018 the event moved to Gunnersbury Park, London. The move came after Tower Hamlets turned down its application to continue in Victoria Park and Lambeth residents objected to its move to Brockwell Park ...

, Victoria Park has increasingly been used as a concert venue for large-scale music productions including All Points East. The park is approximately a mile away from the

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a sporting complex and public park in Stratford, Hackney Wick, Leyton and Bow, in east London. It was purpose-built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, situated adjacent to the Stratford City devel ...

. Owing to its proximity to the Olympic Park, it became a venue for the BT London Live event along with Hyde Park during the London 2012 Olympic Games. The park underwent a £12 million refurbishment in 2011 and 2012, and many of the park's historical and heritage features have been reinstated or repaired. It has won the Green Flag People's Choice Award for the most popular public green space in 2012, 2014 and 2015, the only park in the UK to have won the award three times, and often appears in the Top-10. The park is Grade II* listed on the

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

History

Origins

A mass

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...

to Queen Victoria, in support of a recommendation by epidemiologist

William Farr William Farr Order of the Bath, CB (30 November 1807 – 14 April 1883) was a British epidemiologist, regarded as one of the founders of medical statistics. Early life William Farr was born in Kenley, Shropshire, to poor parents. He was effec ...

, led to the creation of the park. The UK Parliament passed the York House and Victoria Park Act 1841 ( 4 & 5 Vict. c. 27), which enabled the

Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

to purchases which were laid out by the London planner and

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Sir

James Pennethorne Sir James Pennethorne (4 June 1801 – 1 September 1871) was a British architect and planner, particularly associated with buildings and parks in central London. Life Early years Pennethorne was born in Worcester, and travelled to London i ...

between 1842 and 1846. A part of the area was known as Bonner Fields, after Bishop Bonner, the last

lord of the manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...

. Bonner's Hall, also known as Bonner's Palace, served as a residence of the

Bishops of London The bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of ...

, and was pulled down in 1845 to make way for Victoria Park. The land had originally been parkland, associated with the Bishop's Palace, but by the mid-1800s had been spoiled by the extraction of gravel, and clay for bricks. The park was opened to the public in 1845. It is reminiscent of

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

, having been designed by Pennethorne's teacher John Nash, and is considered by some as the finest park in the East End. It is bounded on two sides by

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

s: the

Regent's Canal Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in ea ...

lies to the west, while its branch, once known as the Hertford Union Canal, runs along the southern edge of the park. There is a gate named after

Edmund Bonner Edmund Bonner (also Boner; c. 15005 September 1569) was Bishop of London from 1539 to 1549 and again from 1553 to 1559. Initially an instrumental figure in the schism of Henry VIII from Rome, he was antagonised by the Protestant reforms introdu ...

, and guarding the main entrance at Sewardstone Road are replica statues of the Dogs of

Alcibiades Alcibiades (; 450–404 BC) was an Athenian statesman and general. The last of the Alcmaeonidae, he played a major role in the second half of the Peloponnesian War as a strategic advisor, military commander, and politician, but subsequently ...

, the originals of which stood here from 1912 to 2009 until vandalism led to their being removed, restored and rehoused elsewhere in the park. Victoria Park proposal 1841

Two pedestrian alcoves are located at the east end of the park near the

war memorial where they were placed in 1860. They are surviving fragments of the old

London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...

, demolished in 1831, and were part of the 1760 refurbishment of the 600-year-old bridge, by Sir Robert Taylor and

George Dance the Younger George Dance the Younger RA (1 April 1741 – 14 January 1825) was an English architect and surveyor as well as a portraitist. The fifth and youngest son of the architect George Dance the Elder, he came from a family of architects, artist ...

. They provided protection for pedestrians on the narrow carriageway. The insignia of

Bridge House Estates City Bridge Foundation is the working name of the historic Bridge House Estates, which originated in the late eleventh century and was formally established by royal charter in 1282 by the City of London Corporation in London, England. It is a reg ...

can be seen inside these alcoves, which have been

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

since 1951. The

Lido Lido may refer to: Geography * Lido (Belgrade), a river beach on the Danube in Belgrade, Serbia * Venice Lido, an 11-kilometre-long barrier island in the Venetian Lagoon, Venice, Italy * Ruislip Lido, a reservoir and artificial beach in Ruisl ...

opened in 1936 and reopened in 1952 following damage during the Second World War; it was closed in 1986 and demolished in 1990.

The People's Park

In the latter half of the 19th Century, Victoria Park became an essential amenity for the working classes of the East End. For some East End children in the 1880s, this may have been the only large stretch of uninterrupted greenery they ever encountered. Facilities like the Bathing Pond (picture right) —later superseded by the park lido—would have introduced many to swimming in an era when many public baths (like that at Shacklewell) were still simply communal washing facilities. Victoria Park's reputation as the 'People's Park' grew as it became a centre for political meetings and rallies, perhaps exceeding in importance than the more well-known Hyde Park in this regard. The park occupies much of the space between

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and includes much of ...

— experiencing poverty in the 19th century and with a tradition of

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and revolutionary agitation — and Hackney, more genteel, but heir to a legacy of religious dissent and non-conformism that led to its own brand of

reformism Reformism is a political tendency advocating the reform of an existing system or institution – often a political or religious establishment – as opposed to its abolition and replacement via revolution. Within the socialist movement, ref ...

. So there was a lot of activity at

Speaker's Corner A Speakers' Corner is an area where free speech public speaking, open-air public speaking, debate, and discussion are allowed. The original and best known is in the north-east corner of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park in London, England. Histor ...

s. Although anyone could set up their own soapbox, the biggest crowds were usually drawn to 'star' socialist speakers such as

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

and

Annie Besant Annie Besant (; Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was an English socialist, Theosophy (Blavatskian), theosophist, freemason, women's rights and Home Rule activist, educationist and campaigner for Indian nationalism. She was an arden ...

This description by J. H. Rosney, correspondent for ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

'' (February 1888) evokes a scene: The tradition of public speaking in the park continued until well after the Second World War, and was still later reflected in politically oriented rock concerts, such as those held by Rock Against Racism and the Anti-Nazi League in the 1970s and 1980s. It is still not uncommon for marches or demonstrations to begin or end in Victoria Park. On 26 June 2014, a campaign to revive the Speakers' Corner at Victoria Park was launched at a democratic theatre event held in

Shoreditch Town Hall Shoreditch Town Hall is an independent cultural, live events and community space in Shoreditch, London. The building, which previously served as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, is a Grade II listed building. History ...

. Hosted by The People Speak, a participatory campaign and events group, 66 audience members deliberated over how to use the pooled cash revenue from their tickets, and eventually voted to recreate the well-known tradition of free speech and debate in Hyde Park in East London's Victoria Park. The campaign formally launched in July 2014.

Second World War

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Victoria Park was largely closed to the public and effectively became one huge Ack-Ack (anti-aircraft) site. The gun emplacements conveniently straddled the path of German

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

bombers looping north west after attacking the docks and warehouses further south in what is now

, and so the park was of some strategic importance. Prisoner of war camps were erected along the north eastern edge parallel to Victoria Park Road and were used to house both Germans and Italians. An air raid shelter was built underground just inside St Marks Gate. On 15 October 1940 a bomb made a direct hit, trapping around a hundred inside and killing fifteen. Much of the park was taken to be used as part of the war effort, which much of the earth being used for allotments, military stations and barrage balloon sites, even the park railings were melted down to be re-used. More controversially, anti-aircraft activity in the park has been implicated in the crowd panic that caused the

Bethnal Green tube disaster Bethnal Green () is a London Underground station in Bethnal Green, London, England. It is on the Central line between Liverpool Street and Mile End stations, and is located in Travelcard Zone 2. It is open 24 hours on a Friday and Saturday ...

of 1943. Some eyewitness accounts have led to the suggestion that, after several air raid alerts, the panic run for shelter was caused by a gigantic explosion of noise from the direction of the park. A BBC documentary on the event suggests that this was due to the first firing of the new Z-Battery anti-aircraft rockets. The UK Ministry of Defence, however, disputes this account. The war destroyed many of the park's beautiful early features: three lodges including the Bonner Lodge were completely reduced to rubble, the palm house was shattered, St Augustine's Church collapsed in on itself and the pagoda, moorish shelter and lido were all damaged. With finances tight after the war ended, most were torn down rather than repaired.

Modern

In 1986 the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

transferred responsibility for Victoria Park to

and Hackney, through a joint management board, was part of both boroughs. Since 1994 Tower Hamlets has run the park alone. In recent times, Victoria Park became noted for its open-air

music festival A music festival is a festival, community event with music, performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock music, rock, blues, folk music, folk, jazz, classical music), nation ...

s, often linked with a political cause. In 1978, Rock Against Racism organised a protest event against growth of far-right organisations such as the National Front. The concert was played by

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

Steel Pulse Steel Pulse are a roots reggae band from the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, and were composed of David Hinds (lead vocals, guitar), Basil Gabbidon (lead guitar, vocals), and Ro ...

X-Ray Spex X-Ray Spex were an English punk rock band formed in 1976 in London. During their first incarnation (1976–1979), X-Ray Spex released five singles and one album. Their 1977 single " Oh Bondage Up Yours!" and 1978 debut album '' Germfree Adol ...

, The Ruts,

Sham 69 Sham 69 are an English punk rock band that formed in Hersham in Surrey in 1975. They changed their musical direction after seeing the Sex Pistols play live in early 1976. They were one of the most successful punk bands in the United Kingdom, ac ...

Generation X Generation X (often shortened to Gen X) is the Demography, demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the Baby Boomers and preceding Millennials. Researchers and popular media often use the mid-1960s as its starting birth years and the ...

, and the

Tom Robinson Band Tom Robinson Band (TRB) are a British Rock music, rock band, established in 1976 by singer, songwriter and bassist Tom Robinson. The band's debut single "2-4-6-8 Motorway" was a top five hit on the UK Singles Chart in 1977, and their third sin ...

. The 1980 rock docudrama ''

Rude Boy Rude boy is a subculture that originated from 1960s Jamaican street culture. In the late 1970s, there was a revival in England of the terms ''rude boy'' and ''rude girl'', among other variations like ''rudeboy'' and ''rudebwoy'', being used t ...

'' features

playing at an Anti-Nazi League event in the park. London International Festival of Theatre presented pyrotechnics company Group F in 2001 and again in 2004, led by pyrotechnician Christophe Berthonneau. In 2006 through to 2010, Paradise Gardens, a free community festival, produced by Remarkable Productions working in partnership with Tower Hamlets Council's Arts and Events department, re-imagined Victorian pleasure gardens for the modern era, before moving in 2012 to London Pleasure Gardens in Newham.

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

played two concerts in the park on 24–25 June 2008. Madness celebrated their 30th year with a fifth Madstock festival there on 17 July 2009. The park has also become popular amongst

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

's biggest names; Dutch DJ

Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( , ), is a Dutch DJ and record producer. He was voted "The Greatest DJ of All Time" by ''Mix (magazine), Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, h ...

played at Victoria Park in 2009 and again in 2010.Music Review: Tiësto/Pendulum @ Victoria Park
londonist.com, 3 August 2010 On 24–25 July 2010, Victoria Park was the site of the first High Voltage Festival. Victoria Park has also hosted

Field Day Field day may refer to: * For the armed forces use and its derivatives, see wiktionary:field day * Field day (agriculture), a trade show * Field Day (amateur radio), an annual amateur radio exercise * Field Day (band), a Canadian pop-punk band fro ...

, The Apple Cart, Underage Festival,

, and All Points East. For children, Victoria Park is host to: a ''One O'Clock Club'' for under-fives and a programme of summer activities and a children's play park including a paddling pool that runs from 1–5pm in the summer months. The oldest model boat club in the world, the Victoria Model Steam Boat Club, founded in the Park on 15 July 1904, is still active today and holds up to 17 of their Sunday regattas a year. The VMSB Club runs straight-running boats just as they did 100 years ago but have also progressed to radio controlled boats and

hydroplanes Hydroplaning and hydroplane may refer to: * Aquaplaning or hydroplaning, a loss of steering or braking due to water on the road * Hydroplane (boat), a fast motor boat used in racing ** Hydroplane racing, a sport involving racing hydroplanes on l ...

. The first Regatta is traditionally held on

Easter Sunday Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek language, Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, de ...

and the Steam Regatta is always held on the first Sunday in July. The Park is also the home of Tower Hamlets Football Club and Victoria Park United Football club, Tower Hamlets Cricket Club, Victoria Park Harriers & Tower Hamlets Athletics Club, which has its headquarters at St. Augustine's Hall located at the north-east corner of the Park. The club celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2006. During the summer

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

is played every evening on the park's three all-weather wickets, organised by the Victoria Park Community Cricket League. The park also has a popular three-lane cricket net, free to use at all times. It was refurbished to a high standard at the end of 2005, paid for by a grant from the

England and Wales Cricket Board The England and Wales Cricket Board, aka ECB, is the Sports governing body, national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test ...

. The park is open daily from 7:00am to dusk. In 2010 the National Lottery

Big Lottery Fund The National Lottery Community Fund, legally named the Big Lottery Fund, is a non-departmental public body responsible for distributing funds raised by the National Lottery for " good causes". It is the largest community funder in the UK and ...

awarded the London Borough of Tower Hamlets a £4.5 million grant towards a £12 million programme of major improvements to Victoria Park. Plans included a new building, the Hub, comprising a cafe, public toilets, community rooms and adult play facilities to promote healthy living. The landscape has been restored in many places, and the Old English gardens restored to include new water features. In 1842 a pagoda was put in London's Hyde Park as an entrance to its Chinese Exhibition, and when the exhibition finished it was moved to Victoria Park's island in the west boating lake for ornamental purposes. The original architect for the park, Pennethorne, designed a bridge to the island that matched the style of the pagoda; this was never built, however, and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the pagoda suffered much damage. The pagoda was eventually demolished in the 1950s, while the water surrounding the island was filled in, shrinking the lake and making what was the island part of the park landscape. With the park's refurbishments that began in 2010 it was decided to restore the island to its former glory; the lake was extended back around the original area, the pagoda was replicated through the use of many photographs and eye-witness information and then, to complete Pennethorne's unfinished vision, the plans for his original bridge were discovered and the bridge built after over 100 years. As a finishing touch, pedalos and row boats were brought back on to the West lake, a feature which had been missing from the park for decades. The Burdett-Coutts fountain (named after the Victorian philanthropist Angela Burdett-Coutts) had a partial restoration of its intricate granite carvings and sculptures. In recent years the fountain had been fenced off due to graffiti and vandalism, but along with the restoration the fences were removed, and four symmetrical mirror pools were placed around the fountain along with decorative flower beds. The area is now a public space, with many benches offering an attractive place to sit. A modern addition to the park is the Memoryscape trail, an audio trail winding through the park that visitors listen to using headphones. The trail consists of many historical facts and tidbits of information, and includes accounts from people who grew up in and around the park, with one person for example reminiscing about the prisoner of war camp in the park during World War 2. Visitors can either download the tracks from the council's website and put them on their own device, or they can get a pair of pre-loaded headphones from the hub in exchange for a small refundable deposit. As part of the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, the

Romanian Cultural Institute The Romanian Cultural Institute (, ICR), headquartered in Bucharest, was established in 2004 on the older institutional framework provided by the Romanian Cultural Foundation and before 1989 by the Institute for the Cultural Relations Abroad. ...

commissioned artist Ernö Bartha to produce two sculptures ''Bird'' and ''Skyscraper'' in the West Lake. Despite both being made of hay enforced with steel frames they still remain in the park and have become a prominent feature of the lake receiving their own plaques in 2015.

Transport

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

Routes 277, 425 serve the heart of the park, 8, 339, D6, and Night Route N8 on Roman Road. 309 and D3 at

London Chest Hospital The London Chest Hospital, located in Bethnal Green in London, adjacent to Victoria Park, Tower Hamlets, Victoria Park, was a hospital with a national reputation for treatment of Heart, cardiac and Lung, pulmonary disease. Since 1999 it had been ...

via Approach Road. 388 (westbound) on Victoria Park Road. Mile End tube station for the Central line,

District line The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road tube station (Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines), Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One br ...

Hammersmith & City line The Hammersmith & City line is a London Underground line that runs between Hammersmith in west London and in east London. Coloured pink on the Tube map, it serves 29 stations over . Between and it skirts the City of London, the capital's finan ...

services to Stratford,

Upminster Upminster is a suburb of east London, England, in the London Borough of Havering, northeast of Charing Cross. Historically a rural village, it formed an ancient parish in the Chafford hundred of the county of Essex. The economic history of ...

, Barking or

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

is 10min via Grove Road, you can take the 277 or 425 to

Mile End Mile End is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is east of Charing Cross. Situated on the part of the London-to-Colchester road ...

which is 5min away. Cambridge Heath station for

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, a group representing passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the passenger services previously provided by ...

services to Liverpool Street and Enfield or

Chingford Chingford is a suburban town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The centre of Chingford is north-east of Charing Cross, with Waltham Abbey to the north, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east, Walt ...

is 5mins away via Bishops Way. Victoria Park had its own rather grand station Victoria Park railway station (London), on the

North London Railway The North London Railway (NLR) company had lines connecting the northern suburbs of London with the Port of London further east. The main east to west route is now part of London Overground's North London Line. Other NLR lines fell into disus ...

, closed in 1943. The station survived into the 1960s, but when the line to Stratford reopened, it was replaced by Hackney Wick railway station, which is also a short walk from the eastern end of the Park. The

borders the west side of the park, while Hertford Union Canal borders the south side of the park; this offers access to walking or cycling on their towpaths. The

National Cycle Route 1 The cycle-path is located in the United Kingdom. Route Dover to Canterbury Dover , Deal, Kent, Deal , Sandwich, Kent, Sandwich , Canterbury Links with National Cycle Route 2, RCR 16, Kent, Regional route 16, and RCR 17, Kent, Regional r ...

(NCR1) passes here on the Hertford Union Canal.

Mare Street Mare Street is a street in the London Borough of Hackney. It has existed since the 15th century, when it was one of the first roads at the centre of the parish. It was then known as ''Merestret''. The word ''mere'' was either the Old English ' ...

can easily be reached from here. The northern end of the Greenway walk/cycle path to

Beckton Beckton is a suburb in east London, England, located east of Charing Cross and part of the London Borough of Newham. Adjacent to the River Thames, the area consisted of unpopulated marshland known as the East Ham Levels in the parishes of Bark ...

, via

and Newham General Hospital, starts nearby on the eastern side of Victoria Park.

Awards

In summer 2008, the park was voted London's best local park by '' Time Out'' magazine.London’s best local parks: Victoria Park, E9
''Time Out'' magazine, 29 August 2008. Accessed 27 September 2011. In 2011 it won its first

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, ...

(which it has retained every year since,) and it was again voted London's favourite park, this time in the national People's Choice Award, a UK wide competition. In 2013 Victoria Park was also certified a Green Heritage Site by English Heritage and Keep Britain Tidy, an award given in recognition of achieving the required standard in the management and interpretation of a site with local or national historic importance. In 2013 the park came second in a national vote to find the public's favourite Green Flag Awarded park, beaten only by

Margam Country Park Margam Country Park is a country park estate in Wales, of around 850 acres (3.4 km2). It is situated in Margam, about 2 miles (3 km) from Port Talbot in south Wales. It was once owned by the Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot, Mansel Talbo ...

in south Wales from a field of 1,448 qualifying open spaces. In 2014, Victoria Park reinstated itself as the most popular park in the UK, with over 13,000 votes in the Green Flag Peoples Choice Awards. The park also was once again rewarded both Green Flag and Green Heritage status. In August 2015 it was revealed that the park had retained its Green Flag People's Choice Award, winning the most votes for a park in the UK.

In popular culture

* The denouement of

Sarah Waters Sarah Ann Waters (born 21 July 1966) is a Welsh novelist. She is best known for her novels set in Victorian society and featuring lesbian protagonists, such as '' Tipping the Velvet'' and '' Fingersmith''. Life and education Early life Sara ...

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'' starring

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and

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References

External links

*
Victoria Park
at Green Flag Awards website
Pavilion Cafe (West Side)

The Hub (East side)

Tower Hamlets Football Club

Victoria Park Community Cricket League

Victoria Park Harriers & Tower Hamlets Athletics Club
{{Coord, 51.537, -0.038, type:landmark_region:GB-TWH, display=title 1845 establishments in England Grade II* listed parks and gardens in London History of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Urban public parks in the United Kingdom Bow, London