Description
Laid out as a recreation ground in c.1950s, Bartlett Park is a largely grassed flat site with some trees, planting of shrubs, but mainly in use as playing fields. The park is adjacent to the north of the Lansbury Estate, which was built from the 1950s as part of the reconstruction of Stepney and Poplar, the first phase of which was undertaken as a contribution to the Festival of Britain in 1951. Bartlett Park has utilitarian boundary railings and entrances in Arcadia Place and Northumbria Street where the Celestial Church of Christ is located, built as St Saviour's Church in 1873/4. Canary Wharf dominates the skyline to the south.
Practical Information
| Site location | Upper North Street/Lindfield Street/Arcadia Place |
|---|---|
| Postcode | E14 |
| What3Words | ///jabs.ends.sizes |
| Type of Site | Public Park |
| Borough | Tower Hamlets |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Facilities | Adventure playground; grass football pitch |
| Events | Events include Fireworks Displays |
| Public Transport | DLR: All Saints. Bus: 309 |
| Research Updated | 1 November 2011 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The park is on the north edge of the Lansbury Estate (q.v.), where there are various green spaces among the housing blocks built from the 1950s as part of the reconstruction of Stepney/Poplar to create a single community of 11 neighbourhood units over a 30 acre site. The first phase was undertaken as a contribution to the Festival of Britain in 1951 and was an instance of neighbourhood planning principles put into practice, and the first part of the Abercrombie County of London Plan to take shape. It was undertaken by LCC's Town Planning Department in collaboration with Festival authorities and different architects. The Celestial Church of Christ started life as St Saviour, an Anglican church built in 1873/4 to designs of F J and H Francis, which originally had a clergy house and school. The church became redundant in 1976 and in 1983 was taken over by the West African Celestial Church of Christ.
In 2010 Bartlett Park Steering Group appointed Adams & Sutherland architects to develop a masterplan for the park, which is regarded as lacking definition. The proposed masterplan takes into account adjacent housing redevelopment to give the park a new identity and character and to make it safer and more secure. Proposals include an ‘arc of activities' along the north and east sides that 'will reinforce and contain the existing quality of openness. A ‘circular' path, reinforced by new landforms, creates a route to unify the park and lead to facilities and delightful smaller spaces around the park edge, including a pedestrian canal side promenade. The proposals include strategies for biodiverse planting' (Adams & Sutherland website).
In 2010 Bartlett Park Steering Group appointed Adams & Sutherland architects to develop a masterplan for the park, which is regarded as lacking definition. The proposed masterplan takes into account adjacent housing redevelopment to give the park a new identity and character and to make it safer and more secure. Proposals include an ‘arc of activities' along the north and east sides that 'will reinforce and contain the existing quality of openness. A ‘circular' path, reinforced by new landforms, creates a route to unify the park and lead to facilities and delightful smaller spaces around the park edge, including a pedestrian canal side promenade. The proposals include strategies for biodiverse planting' (Adams & Sutherland website).
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ373814 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 4.6385 |
| Site Ownership | LB Tower Hamlets |
| Site Management | Leisure Services, Parks and Open Spaces |
| Dates | 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 | No |
| Local Authority | Tower Hamlets |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Gallery
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Nearby parks and gardens
The Lansbury Estate was built in the 1950s as part of the LCC's post-war reconstruction of Stepney/Poplar to create a single community of 11 neighbourhood areas over a 30 acre site. Neighbourhood Area 9 was selected for the 'live architecture' component of the Festival of Britain in 1951, which became the first phase of the Lansbury Estate. An early instance of neighbourhood planning principles put into practice, the estate comprised low-rise housing; an open market square with shops, public houses and a clock tower; schools, churches and other amenities. Landscaping included amenity green space between housing, street trees, a communal public garden known as Trinity Gardens, and two small enclosed garden 'squares'.
Langdon Park is a roughly rectangular park, largely laid to grass crossed by two main paths, with a number of trees, including recent tree-planting as part of a community project. By the mid C19th the site of the future park was occupied by terraced housing built after the opening of the North London Railway in 1852; the church of St Michael and All Angels, built in 1864 to serve the growing population,was initially partially set in open land. By the turn of the century housing covered the surrounding area. In 1959 the Blackwall Tunnel Approach Road was constructed and areas of housing were cleared, having already suffered damage in the Blitz. The public park was subsequently created as open recreational space for the surrounding suburban housing and provides an important public green space for local residents. Although not a historic park, it makes a valuable contribution to the character of the area. At the west side of the park is Poplar BMX Track. A sculpture of boxer Teddy Baldock 'The Pride of Poplar' was unveiled in the south-west corner of the park in 2014.
The site was a former brickfield that was compulsorily purchased in 1899, cleared and laid out as public gardens by the LCC. It opened as Brickfield Gardens in 1904 with a children's playground and bandstand. It later provided recreational space for residents of the Locksley Estate, which was built from the 1950s by the LCC, when further open space was laid out to the north. Photographs of the 1960s show there was once a popular paddling pool, but this has since been re-landscaped, with play equipment, grass and flower beds. Some of the original plane trees remain in the gardens.
