Vauxhall Park

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Not to be confused with Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens or Vauxhall Park, Luton.
Vauxhall Park in November 2008

Vauxhall Park is a Green Flag Award-winning municipal park in Vauxhall, South London, run by Lambeth Council.[1] It occupies an 8.5-acre site,[2] and was created at a cost of around £45,000,[3] following a public campaign led by the suffragist Millicent Fawcett, the social reformer Octavia Hill and members of the Kyrle Society. The land was purchased from a local developer under the Vauxhall Park Act 1888.[2][4] and the houses of Lawn Terrace demolished accordingly. The new park was formally opened in 1890 by the Prince of Wales.[5][6]

History[]

It was the wish of the blind MP Henry Fawcett that the park be created, and his former garden is one part of the park.[3] The design of the park was the work of Fanny Wilkinson, the first professional female landscape designer in Britain.[7] A statue of Fawcett by the artist George Tinworth was erected in the park in 1903,[8][9] but was removed by Lambeth Council in 1959 and has since been replaced by a plaque.

Features[]

One of Edgar Wilson's model villages is located in the park (others are located in Brockwell Park and Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne).[10] The model village was restored and re-opened by the then MP Kate Hoey in 2001.[11] The park is famous for its lavender garden, located on the former bowling green, and annual lavender harvest.[12][13] Lambeth Council undertook a major renovation of the park in 2020.

Facilities[]

The facilities in the park include a children's playground, a One O’Clock Club, a nursery, a multi-use games area, two tennis courts, chess tables, a park café, and two fenced dog areas.[14] There is an active Friends of Vauxhall Park, established in 1999.

References[]

  1. ^ "Vauxhall Park". www.lambeth.gov.uk. Lambeth Council. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Vauxhall Park". www.ovalpartnership.org.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  3. ^ a b Wheatley, Henry Benjamin; Cunningham, Peter (24 February 2011). London Past and Present: Its History, Associations, and Traditions. Cambridge University Press. p. 430. ISBN 9781108028080.
  4. ^ December 2012. "Vauxhall Parks Study" (PDF). Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  5. ^ "History – Friends of Vauxhall Park". Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  6. ^ "Vauxhall | Hidden London". hidden-london.com. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  7. ^ "London Gardens Trust entry LAM059". londongardenstrust.org. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  8. ^ Crawford, Elizabeth (2 September 2003). The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide 1866–1928. Routledge. p. 218. ISBN 9781135434021.
  9. ^ "London Gardens Trust entry LAM059". londongardenstrust.org. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Friends of Vauxhall Park: History of the Model Village". www.vauxhallpark.org.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  11. ^ "Geograph: Vauxhall Park Model Village". www.geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  12. ^ Tobin, Olivia (21 April 2018). "South London's hidden parks which you may not realise are there". croydonadvertiser. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  13. ^ "Vauxhall Park Lavender Harvest | Things to do in London". Time Out London. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  14. ^ "Friends of Vauxhall Park: Facilities". www.vauxhallpark.org.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2020.

External links[]

Coordinates: 51°28′59″N 0°07′19″W / 51.4830°N 0.1220°W / 51.4830; -0.1220

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