We've found 2594 parks

Well Street gets its name from a spring that was once here. Well Street Common was previously part of South Hackney Common, which was owned by the Lord of the Manor of Hackney and used for agriculture. As the area was becoming built over, 180 acres of Hackney's common land was saved from development following a local petition and campaign in the 1860s, which led to its preservation for public use. All these lands were transferred to the MBW although it wasn't until the 1880s that the rights were purchased from the Lord of the Manor. Common rights were extinguished by an Act of Parliament 1884. Well Street Common was laid out with paths, seating and some planting and has mature horse chestnut and plane trees.

The land was originally part of St James's Park. Wellington Barracks date from 1833-4 although from c.1810 the site was already partly in use by the Guards. The main range was designed by Col. Sir Frederick Smith of the Royal Engineers and architect Philip Hardwick, with later buildings added in the C20th, such as the New Barracks dating from 1979-85. In front of the Royal Military Chapel or Guards' Chapel is a memorial garden laid out in the 1980s and consists of lawn, shrubbery, a fountain and planting in the shape of the Brigade insignia. To the north-west is a bronze statue to Field Marshal The Earl Alexander of Tunis (1891-1969) by James Butler (1985). The modern chapel of the 1960s by Bruce George of George, Trew and Dunn replaced the earlier chapel, which was largely destroyed by a German flying bomb in 1944. The railings of the neighbouring Barracks are C19th.

One of the characteristic elongated squares that open off King's Road, this private communal garden was provided for residents of Wellington Square, which was developed in the 1830s. It is named after the Duke of Wellington. The garden is enclosed by modern railings and has a small area of grass, mature plane trees and sycamore.

The Welsh Harp or Brent Reservoir originated as a canal feeder of 1810. In 1833 Regent's Canal Company decided to build the reservoir, which opened in 1838. Before this the area had been grazing land either side of Silk Stream and River Brent. From 1859-1899 the Reservoir was a fashionable destination for recreation and entertainment, largely due to the popularity of the Old Welsh Harp Pub, from which some say the area takes its name although another school of thought suggests the name arose from the shape of the reservoir, which resembled a Welsh Harp. The old inn building was replaced in 1938 but eventually demolished in 1971 for road construction. Willesden (later Brent) Regatta was held here until the 1960s. Although much of the area was built up, in 1972 a large tract of land was kept undeveloped and used for a variety of purposes including recreation, nursery gardens, allotments and marshland. Neasden Recreation Ground was created in 1927 on land donated by developers of the adjoining land. Welsh Harp Open Space was created in 1965 as a nature reserve, with new paths and other facilities in the late C20th.

Wendell Park is on land that from 1868 was owned by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. In 1893, when much of the area was being built over, 4 acres south of Cobbold Road were offered to Hammersmith Vestry for recreational use in return for certain works, such as paving of new roads. The Vestry took this on with LCC assistance and laid out the park out in 1896/7. The park was not given a formal opening but was in use by 1897.

Although the hamlet of Wennington existed from at least 969AD, its Village Green dates from the 1920s. The manor of 'Winintune' belonged to Edward the Confessor and then to Westminster Abbey before being subdivided into separate manors. The medieval parish church is to the west of the Green, with Wennington Hall, the former manor house, to the east. The Green was created when the houses that surround it on three sides were built adjacent to Wennington Road, an ancient route that has existed for centuries. A square of undulating land planted with grass and a few small trees, the Green has an ornamental sign inscribed 'Wennington Village' and has been the site of village celebrations and events. In July 2024 Havering Council formally agreed to adopt Wennington as a Village Green.

In 1739 John Wesley's first London base was a converted foundry in Moorfields. By the 1770s larger premises were needed and in 1778 the Mother Church of World Methodism Chapel was opened here. Behind the Chapel is a small graveyard with plain chest tombs and the monument of John Wesley with pyramid and urn. In the forecourt is an obelisk to Susannah Wesley erected in 1870 and the Wesley memorial with bronze statue of John Wesley erected on the centenary of his death in 1891. The forecourt was re-landscaped with granite setts and York paving in the 1990s but has notable mature London plane trees.

West Drayton Cemetery was established in 1939 by the Burial Board and is without a chapel, but has a small lodge near the entrance. It has a semi-circular entrance with brick and stone piers and iron railings, with a grid layout of paths and neat rows of gravestones and monuments, and a war memorial. There are numerous small conifers, and paths are lined by avenues of ornamental trees and trees on the perimeter. At the back of the cemetery is a hedged area of meadow with new trees including mountain ash and other species.

West Drayton was originally known as Draegtun, meaning a place where boats were dragged across land to avoid a bend in the river. West Drayton Green is the old village centre, a large open area of grass with trees generally around the perimeter. It is surrounded by a number of fine houses, particularly at the south end, which include the early C18th The Old House and early C19th Beechwood; to the north is a row of cottages that was once the parish workhouse.

Preserving the name of the ancient hamlet of West End within the parish of Hampstead, West End Green was once the site of the village green and pond. Threatened by development from 1875, it was saved by the actions of local people and purchased in 1885 by the Vestry of Hampstead and maintained as a public open space. Surrounded by railings, the garden has grass, mature trees, shrubs and a centrally placed granite drinking fountain, dated 1897. An oak tree planted by the Mayor of Hampstead commemorates the coronation of Edward VII.

Settlement here is recorded as early as 1384, and West Greene is marked on a survey of 1619. By the C19th the green had a horse pond and a pump that served the village with water. It was enclosed between 1864-94 and was laid out with curved walks and surrounding iron railings in c.1897, the latter later removed. West Green was redesigned on a geometric plan focusing on the war memorial, erected to commemorate those who died in WWI.

West Hackney Recreation Ground was laid out as a public garden in 1885 on the site of the churchyard of West Hackney Church, after it had closed for burials. The parish had been formed in 1825 when the large Hackney parish of St John was divided into three to serve the growing population. The church was later rebuilt after damage in WWII. The oblong public garden has a number of gravestones in situ with others placed along the rear wall of the site. It is largely laid to grass with paths around a central lawn area, with shrubs, trees and perimeter beds, and a number of seats. In 2014 the garden was restored and re-landscaped; an area of the former churchyard between the church and the public garden, previously inaccessible, is now publicly accessible.