Archbishop's Park is a park in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

in the

London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazi ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, which opened to the public in 1901. Before it became a park, it formed part of the grounds of

Lambeth Palace Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament of the United King ...

History

has been the London residence of the

Archbishops of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop was Augustine ...

since the 13th-century. The Bishop of Carlisle held adjacent land that was then incorporated into Lambeth Palace. Archibald Campbell Tait became Archbishop in 1869; he was greatly concerned about the welfare of the poor in London, and opened some 9 acres of the palace gardens (being the land formerly owned by the Bishop of Carlisle) for the benefit of the local poor. That area of land became known as Lambeth Palace Field. It continued to be used by the public after Tait's death in 1882, but without any permanent rights to do so. A permanent public park was first proposed in 1898 by Lt-Col Charles Ford, a Progressive member of the

London County Council The 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 ...

(1892–1901). In 1900 the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association then led a campaign for the permanent and unrestricted opening of Lambeth Palace Field. This was successful, and Archbishop's Park was laid out with lawns, a playground and sports fields, surrounded by boundary trees, and was opened in 1901. The London County Council erected a large wooden shelter at the southern end of the park before

WWII 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 ...

. This survived the War, but by the 21st-century had become run-down, and was restored in 2011. There is a fountain, which was restored between 2006 and 2011, with mosaics inlaid by the London School of Mosaic.

Features

The park features two 7 a-side and three 5 a-side football pitches, one multi-use sports area for tennis and netball, two tennis courts, and three cricket nets. A zip wire was erected in the park each summer from 2017 to 2019. A community orchard was established in 2010, and a garden has been laid out in the northern part of the park as a memorial to

Octavia Hill Octavia Hill (3December 183813August 1912) was an English Reform movement, social reformer and founder of the National Trust. Her main concern was the welfare of the inhabitants of cities, especially London, in the second half of the nineteent ...

, one of the founders of the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

. The Octavia Hill garden was launched by the botanist

David Bellamy David James Bellamy (18 January 1933 – 11 December 2019) was an English academic, botanist, television presenter, author and prominent environmental campaigner in the UK and globally. His distinctive, energetic style of presenting became wel ...

in 2005. A statue, symbolising human kindness, sculpted by Jessica Wetherly, was installed in 2016. There is a Friends of Archbishop's Park group.

References

{{Coord, 51.497, -0.116, type:landmark_region:GB-TWH, display=title 1901 establishments in England History of the London Borough of Lambeth Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Lambeth Urban public parks in the United Kingdom