Description
The Aged Pilgrims' Friend Society was founded in 1807 and in 1837 the Society built almshouses in what is now Sedgmoor Place, at that time called Westmoreland Place. The land was given by William Peacock who also built Bethel Asylum nearby in Havil Street. Behind the almshouses is a quadrangle that has a memorial to Peacock who was buried in a vault beneath the courtyard when he died in 1844. The Almshouses were modernised in 1961 and are now flats.
Practical Information
| Site location | 116 Sedgmoor Place, Camberwell |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SE5 |
| What3Words | ///tags.eagle.kicks |
| Type of Site | Private Garden |
| Borough | Southwark |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | private |
| Public Transport | Rail: Peckham Rye then bus. |
| Research Updated | 1 April 2002 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ332770 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | private |
| Dates | 1837 |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Aged Pilgrims Friendly Society's House; front and side walls and gates |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Southwark |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
Sceaux Gardens Estate was one of the first of a series of council estates built in Camberwell in the 1950s, and was designed by the Borough Architect and set in landscaped grounds. The site was once part of the grounds of the Camberwell House Asylum. The estate's two 14-storey slab blocks were among the first tower blocks in London, and the estate also had a number of lower blocks. It was named Sceaux after the Paris suburb with which Camberwell had a Friendship Link, and other names on the estate recall this association, such as Marie Curie who lived in Sceaux and Colbert who rebuilt the chateau at Sceaux under King Louis XIV. The main public open space is largely grass, surrounded in part by low railings, with a number of mature trees and flower beds.
Development of meadowland here took place from 1847, when Brunswick Square was laid out with an area of private communal garden in the centre. It was named after King George IV's marriage to Caroline, daughter of the Duke of Brunswick. In 1901 Camberwell Borough Council purchased the garden, then divided by a roadway, for a public park, which opened in 1907. Tennis courts and a playground were opened in 1937, and a drinking fountain was donated. The park was refurbished by LB Southwark in 1997-99.
Previously a WWII bomb site, there were prefabs here until the building of the Elmington Estate began in 1956. In 1982 a nature garden was established here by Southwark Council, Friends of the Earth and London Wildlife Trust, but later fell into disrepair. It re-opened in June 2015 with landscaping designed by London Wildlife Trust, implemented by The Conservation Volunteers. In 2013 Froglife installed the pond with dipping platform. On the wall of the adjacent Brunswick Park School is the Pied Piper Mural by Willi Soukop from 1956 originally installed on the Elmington Estate but moved in May 2014. A Strawberry Tree has been planted in the garden in memory of the victims of the nearby Lakanal House fire in 2009. Designated a Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation there are a number of habitat areas including: a pond with dipping platform, native hedgerow, wildflower meadow, mini beast zone, sensory and ornamental beds.
