Description
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.
Practical Information
| Site location | Clemence Street, Burdett Road |
|---|---|
| Postcode | E14 |
| What3Words | ///sober.broad.small |
| Type of Site | Public Gardens |
| Borough | Tower Hamlets |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Public Transport | Tube: Mile End (Central; District) |
| Research Updated | 1 November 2011 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The area remained undeveloped until the 1850s, consisting largely of fields that were within the Stepney parish of St Dunstan's, later coming under the parish of St Anne Limehouse. Development of the area accelerated as the West and East India Docks expanded and by the 1860s the area was largely built over for the Cotton Estate. An old brickfield was retained as an area of open space and Brickfield Gardens was later laid out by the LCC, opening in 1904 with a children's playground. The terraces around the small park suffered severe bomb damage in WWII and the area was later cleared by the LCC for a new housing estate, which contained landscaped spaces and included an extension of the public open space to the north. The estate was subsequently expanded in the 1970s and 1980s. Photographs of the 1960s show there was once a popular paddling pool, but this has since gone and the area recently re-landscaped with play equipment, seats, grass and rose beds. Some of the original plane trees remain in the gardens.
The adjacent open space is grass with a few mature trees, now contiguous with Mile End Park (q.v.). A children's playground that was located nearby on a separate site with a One O'clock Club was laid out as a new play area in c.2009.
The adjacent open space is grass with a few mature trees, now contiguous with Mile End Park (q.v.). A children's playground that was located nearby on a separate site with a One O'clock Club was laid out as a new play area in c.2009.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ367814 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.9 |
| Site Ownership | LB Tower Hamlets |
| Site Management | Leisure Services, Parks and Open Spaces |
| Dates | 1904; 1950s/60s |
| Designers | LCC |
| 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 | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Brickfield Gardens |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | Yes |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Gallery
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
St Anne's Church Limehouse was built to serve the new parish of Limehouse. Designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, it was built between 1714-24, but not consecrated until 1730. At that time the surrounding area was largely fields, with some industrial activity nearer the river. House-building developed particularly after the opening of the Limehouse Cut in 1769. The churchyard was the burial place for many people associated with seafaring. After it was closed to burial it was converted into public gardens in 1887.
Rectory Gardens is on the site of the former garden of St Anne's Rectory, an early C18th house that was destroyed in WWII. Now a public garden owned by Tower Hamlets Council, the roughly triangular site is bordered by the Limehouse Cut, London’s oldest canal built in 1766-9, with Commercial Road to the north and Docklands Light Railway viaduct, originally built for the London and Blackwall Railway, along its former southern boundary.
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.
