Description
Bonnington Square was originally built in the 1870s for railway workers. In the 1970s the houses were compulsorily purchased by the GLC and an area of WWII bomb damage, now the site of the communal garden, was laid out as playground, but this later fell into disrepair and became wasteland. The properties were left empty, squatted, then leased until 1998 when LB Lambeth enabled the residents to form themselves into a co-op in order to buy the property. In 1990 they formed Bonnington Square Garden Association and transformed it into a 'Pleasure Garden', so named in homage to Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, which had been located 100m north of the site. The design aimed to be 'a unique mix of the classic English and the exotic tropical, of gentle textures and the bold architectural'.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | The Pleasure Garden |
|---|---|
| Site location | Bonnington Square, off Vauxhall Grove |
| Postcode | SW8 1GA |
| What3Words | ///shin.memo.origin |
| Type of Site | Public Gardens |
| Borough | Lambeth |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | open morning to evening, locked at night |
| Events | Musical events and annual festival; regularly participates in OGSW |
| Public Transport | Rail/Tube: Vauxhall (Victoria), Oval (Northern). Bus: 2, 36, 88, 185, 436; 44, 77, 77A, 156, 322, 344 |
| Research Updated | 13 April 2023 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Bonnington Square was built in the 1870s for railway workers; in the 1970s the houses were compulsorily purchased by the GLC. Left empty, squatted then leased, in 1998 LB Lambeth enabled the residents to form themselves into a co-op in order to buy the property. The communal garden is on the site of WWII bomb damage which in the 1970s LB Lambeth laid out as playground installing swings and seats but it was not maintained and fell into disrepair and became wasteland. In 1990 a builder applied to LB Lambeth for use of the site for storage at which time residents formed the Bonnington Square Garden Association with the aim of transforming it into a 'Pleasure Garden', so named in homage to Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens which were located 100m north of the site. Money was raised by August 1994 and the garden was designed by local residents and an architectural firm with the intention of creating 'a gentle and beautiful slice of nature that could serve all sides of the community'.
The original planting plan was by Bonnington Square residents Dan Pearson and James Fraser from New Zealand creating 'a unique mix of the classic English and the exotic tropical, of gentle textures and the bold architectural'. Planting included a walnut tree, tropical banana and bamboo, New Zealand planting in raised beds. The planting has been embellished since then by Andrew Gleave-Coley and Evan English. Adornments in the garden include the Boat above the wisteria-covered pergola, and at one end is The Wheel, a 1860s industrial artefact rescued from a nearby marble factory. The Garden Association has since planted trees, vines and street gardens in the surrounding neighbourhood as part of its 'Paradise Project'. It has been the recipient of S106 money from Vauxhall Cross Development, also enabling planting of rosemary and lavender by street trees.
The original planting plan was by Bonnington Square residents Dan Pearson and James Fraser from New Zealand creating 'a unique mix of the classic English and the exotic tropical, of gentle textures and the bold architectural'. Planting included a walnut tree, tropical banana and bamboo, New Zealand planting in raised beds. The planting has been embellished since then by Andrew Gleave-Coley and Evan English. Adornments in the garden include the Boat above the wisteria-covered pergola, and at one end is The Wheel, a 1860s industrial artefact rescued from a nearby marble factory. The Garden Association has since planted trees, vines and street gardens in the surrounding neighbourhood as part of its 'Paradise Project'. It has been the recipient of S106 money from Vauxhall Cross Development, also enabling planting of rosemary and lavender by street trees.
The Garden Association is open for anyone to join and the garden is exclusively maintained by the residents, and receives no ongoing funding from any source other than the generosity and tenacity (for fund raising) of those who use and love the garden.
Having completed the Pleasure Garden, the Garden Association went on to create the Paradise Project, extending the garden’s philosophy into the surrounding neighbourhood by planting trees, vines and street gardens in every available space. Like the garden this is an ongoing project to attempt to provide some harmony between nature and inner city living.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ306778 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | LB Lambeth |
| Site Management | Bonnington Square Garden Association |
| Dates | 1970s; 1990s |
| Designers | 1994: Dan Pearson, James Fraser (Bonnington Square Garden Association) |
| 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 | Lambeth |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Vauxhall |
| 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
Harleyford Road Community Garden is on the site of a Georgian terrace that had long front gardens facing onto Harleyford Road, which by the 1970s were mostly demolished. In 1984 local residents began to grow vegetables on the wasteland and set up the Harleyford Road Garden Association to undertake a feasibility study. The community garden was designed and laid out from 1986-88 and continues to be maintained by local residents. It is divided into several areas and consists of a children's play area, lawns, picnic area, shrubberies of native and exotic species, a greenhouse and allotments area for herbs and vegetables, and a small pond. Recent features include a mosaic wall, extended mosaic paths and new benches.
Vauxhall Park was laid out as a public park in 1890 on land that was previously part of the grounds of two houses, The Lawn and Carroun House, which were proposed for housing development. The site was purchased in 1888 through the efforts of Octavia Hill and others, including Henry Fawcett MP, the Postmaster-General, whose statue was later erected in the park. The layout was designed by Fanny Wilkinson for the Kyrle Society, and it was opened by Albert, Prince of Wales in 1890.
Noel Caron, wealthy landowner, philanthropist and Dutch Ambassador to Elizabeth I, built seven almshouses on Kingston/Wandsworth Road in 1622 for seven poor but honest women of Lambeth parish. No garden records have been found, but a watercolour exists of the almshouses before they were demolished as unsuitable in 1853. In 1854 seven new Caron almshouses were built in nearby Fentiman Road, with a communal front garden and seven separate back gardens (as shown by maps until 1932): a 1950 map shows the seven separate back gardens as a single unit. Trustee ‘minutes’ reveal that Vauxhall Park gardeners maintained the almshouse gardens. Site visits suggest that holm oak, cherry and sycamore were early garden trees. Today’s care body is Family Mosaic.
