Description
Albion Road was built in 1829 to link Church Street and Newington Green. By 1928 the small triangular piece of land at the junction of Albion Road and Clissold Crescent had been acquired for £60 by Stoke Newington Borough Council who maintained it as public open space. In 1953 it was re-landscaped as a garden to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, and is now known as Albion Parade. In 2015 the site was again re-landscaped to create a space that could be used for community events, with funding through the Pocket Parks initiative.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Albion Road Triangle |
|---|---|
| Site location | Albion Road/Clissold Crescent |
| Postcode | N16 |
| What3Words | ///bleat.faces.frog |
| Type of Site | Public Gardens |
| Borough | Hackney |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Public Transport | Tube: Angel (Northern) then bus. Bus 73 |
| Research Updated | 1 September 2015 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Albion Parade was laid out as a garden at the same time as the Church Street Gardens (q.v.) to the north. Both small gardens are preserved under the London Squares Act 1931. It provides a small area of landscaping with grass, rose beds and a few trees, surrounded by low grey stone walls, with a paved path running across the garden.
Albion Parade was re-landscaped in c.2015 to create a Pocket Park that would allow the site to be used for community events. The project was undertaken in conjunction with Groundwork London and funded through GLA’s Pocket Parks scheme, an initiative of the Mayor of London’s drive to create 100 Pocket Parks across London launched in 2013, with community grants of up to £20,000 available. The community fund was part of a £2m investment to bring 100 underused urban spaces back into use by March 2015. The scheme was delivered by Groundwork and enabled the creation of more than 100 pocket parks across 26 London boroughs, and ranged from community orchards to edible bus stops, the first to open being in Stockwell. A Pocket Park, defined as ‘a piece of land of up to 0.4 hectares, which may already be underdeveloped or derelict’, is considered to provide a small area of inviting public green space where people can relax, exercise, socialise and play, and can be natural and/or formal in character.
In 2016 the Pocket Parks initiative went England-wide with a £1.5m fund launched by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). Community groups were invited to apply for grants up to £15,000, but applicants were also required to raise match funding from other sources. This led to 87 funded projects across the country, although no projects were in London. In 2018 the Pocket Parks Plus Scheme was launched by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), eventually making £3.75m available when it was widened to include not only new pocket parks but also projects to refurbish existing parks or parts of parks. This led to funding 198 projects, which included 32 projects in London. The third funding round was launched by MHCLG in 2019 and on 3 March 2020, World Wildlife Day, the recipients of the £1.35m fund were announced. Of the 68 winners, 10 are in London. The government has now provided 352 grants to support community groups to create 146 new parks and give a vital boost to 206 derelict urban spaces in towns and cities in every region of the country.
Albion Parade was re-landscaped in c.2015 to create a Pocket Park that would allow the site to be used for community events. The project was undertaken in conjunction with Groundwork London and funded through GLA’s Pocket Parks scheme, an initiative of the Mayor of London’s drive to create 100 Pocket Parks across London launched in 2013, with community grants of up to £20,000 available. The community fund was part of a £2m investment to bring 100 underused urban spaces back into use by March 2015. The scheme was delivered by Groundwork and enabled the creation of more than 100 pocket parks across 26 London boroughs, and ranged from community orchards to edible bus stops, the first to open being in Stockwell. A Pocket Park, defined as ‘a piece of land of up to 0.4 hectares, which may already be underdeveloped or derelict’, is considered to provide a small area of inviting public green space where people can relax, exercise, socialise and play, and can be natural and/or formal in character.
In 2016 the Pocket Parks initiative went England-wide with a £1.5m fund launched by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). Community groups were invited to apply for grants up to £15,000, but applicants were also required to raise match funding from other sources. This led to 87 funded projects across the country, although no projects were in London. In 2018 the Pocket Parks Plus Scheme was launched by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), eventually making £3.75m available when it was widened to include not only new pocket parks but also projects to refurbish existing parks or parts of parks. This led to funding 198 projects, which included 32 projects in London. The third funding round was launched by MHCLG in 2019 and on 3 March 2020, World Wildlife Day, the recipients of the £1.35m fund were announced. Of the 68 winners, 10 are in London. The government has now provided 352 grants to support community groups to create 146 new parks and give a vital boost to 206 derelict urban spaces in towns and cities in every region of the country.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ329859 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.053 |
| Site Ownership | LB Hackney |
| Site Management | Parks Department |
| Dates | Early C20th; 1950s |
| 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 | Yes |
| Local Authority | Hackney |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | London Squares |
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
Butterfield Green is a small public park that takes its name from William Butterfield, the architect of St Matthias Church on Newington Green. The area was first developed in the C19th but the Green is surrounded by post-war council housing of the late 1940s/50s and the park was created when houses that occupied the sites of the various parts that make up the Green were demolished. An old footpath runs between Butterfield Green and blocks of flats. A community orchard has been planted in the park (2007) and further improvements in recent years have included a dry creek bed with water play space, and refurbished play area (2022)
Church Street Gardens existed as a shrubbery maintained by Stoke Newington Borough Council in the early C20th, but was laid out as a garden in 1953 in celebration of the Queen's Coronation. A small oval garden with grass, circular rose bed and ornamental trees surrounded by low walling, it is situated opposite the ancient parish church of St Mary and adjacent to the newer church, built to accommodate the growing parish.
Recorded in the Domesday Book, Stoke Newington was an important village by the C16th. The old medieval parish church of St Mary's, also called the Ancient Mother Church, survives today, the building dating from 1563 and sympathetically restored in 1826-29. In the mid 1850s the congregation had grown, and a new, larger parish church was built on the site of the rectory garden, but the old church was preserved. St Mary's Churchyard has many distinguished late C18th tombs, and some fine trees. It was closed to burials following the Burial Grounds Act of 1854. Initially maintained by the Burial Board, the borough council took over responsibility in 1896. Across Church Street St Mary New Church is surrounded by a grassed area, with a war memorial.