Archbishop's Park is a park in Lambeth in the London Borough of Lambeth in

London 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 ...

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

History

Lambeth Palace has been the London residence of the Archbishops of Canterbury since the 13th-century. The Bishop of Carlisle held adjacent land that was then incorporated into Lambeth Palace.

Archibald Campbell Tait Archibald Campbell Tait (21 December 18113 December 1882) was an Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England and theologian. He was the first Scottish Archbishop of Canterbury and thus, head of the Church of England. Life Tait was bo ...

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 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 ...

(1892-1901). In 1900 the

Metropolitan Public Gardens Association The Metropolitan Public Gardens Association (also known as the MPGA) is a charity in London for the purposes of the preservation of public parks and gardens, established in 1882. It facilitated the creation of new public open spaces, including f ...

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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. 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 A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide is a pulley suspended on a cable, usually made of stainless steel, mounted on a slope. It is designed to enable cargo or a person propelled by gravity to travel from the top to the bo ...

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, one of the founders of the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. The Octavia Hill garden was launched by the botanist

David Bellamy David James Bellamy (18 January 1933 – 11 December 2019) was an English botanist, television presenter, author and environmental campaigner. Early and personal life Bellamy was born in London to parents Winifred May (née Green) and Thoma ...

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