Parks & Gardens in London, Suffolk, & abroad
Baxter’s Fields in Sydenham is a grassy park which hides between houses in South East London. The park is associated with significant and important people in the printing industry in the 19C. It is another little surprise in my exploration of green spaces in South East London.
Downham Fields in SE London was also called Durham Hill and I found the park when I was walking in South East London. It is one of the surprising, and perhaps unlikely large green areas – a large green park, on a steep hillside, with beautiful trees and far views over London.
Downham Playing Fields in Lewisham was created during the development of the Downham Estate as a leisure facility. A century later it still fulfils that function. The fields are a pleasant walk, and have the added bonus of the Spring Brook, a tributary of the Ravensbourne River.
Downham Woodland Walk in South East London is Ancient Woodland which hides away behind the houses on the Downham Estate, and close to more Ancient Woodland in the Forster Memorial Park.
Continue reading ➞ Downham Woodland Walk in South East London
Forster Memorial Park in South East London is another of the surprising and hidden parks in South East London. It lies behind busy main roads and affords peace and quiet to local residents. And unusually it has the remains of Ancient Woodlands as well.
Continue reading ➞ Forster Memorial Park in South East London
Mountsfield Park in Lewisham is another surprise in my quest to visit all the parks and gardens in the Borough of Lewisham. Driving along the main roads gives one no idea of this wonderful park hidden behind the rows of Victorian housing. But step off the bus, and walk down a side road, and you are suddenly in a peaceful green space.
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Last week I was in Telegraph Hill Park in a quiet residential area. This week I am visiting Lewisham Park in South East London, off a busy main road. London Gardens Online (LGO) tells me that ‘… Lewisham Park was laid out as the centrepiece of a housing development built on the estate of the Rt Hon William Legge, Earl of Dartmouth, prior to building commencing…
Telegraph Hill Park in Lewisham is in two parts – south and north, or upper and lower – and separated by Kitto Road. My first visit was to the South Park (Upper) last week and today I cross the road to walk in Lower Telegraph Hill Park in Lewisham (North Park).
Upper Telegraph Hill Park is closer to where I live but I don’t know it! London Gardens Online tells me that ‘…Telegraph Hill Park in Lewisham is in two parts, an upper park in the south, and a lower park in the north, divided by Kitto Road. It incorporates the site of one of the Admiralty’s C18th semaphore stations, which was in use until 1815, from which the park gets its name. The Managing Director of the Metropolitan Gas Co. decided that the area needed a park and £2,000 with similar amounts from the LCC and Greenwich Board of Works. With this money they bought the land from the Haberdashers’ Company.
The park opened on 6 April 1895 with a bandstand, ponds and elaborate walks, perimeter planting and a perimeter walk. A shelter and toilets were added later in the northern park, and tennis courts were built on the site of the semaphore station in the south part, which has magnificent views. And recently the park was restored through a grant from the HLF…’.
London Gardens Online tells me that ‘…Wickham Gardens in Lewisham is a cul-de-sac off Wickham Road, the houses surrounding a garden that was protected under the London Squares and Enclosures (Preservation) Act 1906, which prohibited building on the enclosure.