WHENEVER WE VISIT the Newport Street Gallery in London’s Lambeth district, we pass the entrance to a small garden. Today (19th of June 2024), we decided to enter this little park – a peaceful haven only a few hundred yards south of Lambeth Bridge. It is called Old Paradise Gardens. Irregular in shape, it has one long main path leading from its northern entrance in a southeasterly direction towards its southern entrance, close to a busy railway line. Near the northern entrance, there is a small fenced off area, which is being developed as a community garden in collaboration with the nearby Garden Museum (next door to Lambeth Palace). Not being botanically knowledgeable, I cannot describe the wide variety of plants growing in the Gardens, but I can say that they make for an extremely pleasant green environment.
We saw a few worn, illegible tombstones propped up against one of the garden’s walls. These provide an important clue about the history of the Gardens. The place was:
“…previously a burial ground provided to the parish by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1703. It was extended in 1816, but by 1853 was full and closed to burial. In 1880 it was decided to convert it into a public garden, which opened in 1884. Gravestones were moved to boundary walls … The recreation ground was extended in 1929 and by the 1970s was largely asphalted. Since re-landscaped, it has grassy mounds, a water feature, with shrubs and spring bulbs planted. In 2013 refurbishment was completed and the park was renamed Old Paradise Gardens. In 2023 a new community garden was introduced in the southeast corner designed by Dan Pearson Studios under the leadership of The Garden Museum nearby.” (https://londongardenstrust.org/conservation/inventory/site-record/?ID=LAM026&sitename=Old+Paradise+Gardens)
When we visited the Gardens at about 11 am today, we saw few other people. Probably, at weekends and after school is over, this delightful little open space becomes busier. It is always lovely to ‘discover’ yet another of London’s numerous green spaces – about 40% of London’s area is occupied by public green spaces.
If you happen to be in need of refreshment whilst visiting the Old Paradise Gardens, head for the elegant café attached to the nearby Garden Museum.
yamey 