Description
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)
Practical Information
| Site location | Shakespeare Walk/Wordsworth Road/Cowper Road/Allen Road |
|---|---|
| Postcode | N16 8DD |
| What3Words | ///dome.gift.bumpy |
| Type of Site | Public Park |
| Borough | Hackney |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | 7.30am - dusk (summer 9.30pm, winter 4pm). |
| Facilities | Ping pong tables, play areas, multi-use games area, basketball court, trim trail |
| Public Transport | London Overground: Dalston Kingsland, Dalston Junction then bus. Bus 67, 73, 76, 149 [243, 243A] |
| Research Updated | 7 August 2023 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Butterfield Green is a small public park that takes its name from William Butterfield, the architect of St Matthias Church to the south on Newington Green (q.v.). The church was built in the mid C19th after this area was first being developed. Land around what is now Albion Road was sold for development in 1821 to Thomas Cubitt, who laid out Albion Road and surrounding streets in 1823-39 with housing dating from the 1850s to the south east. At the north end of Shakespeare Walk are Victorian terraces but Butterfield Green is surrounded by Council housing erected from the late 1940s. Up until the mid 1980s houses occupied the sites of the various parts that make up the small park, which was created when the houses were demolished. An old footpath now known as Town Hall Approach runs between Butterfield Green and blocks of flats built after houses were demolished due to war damage.
A community orchard was planted on the site by local people in 2007 winning a British Urban Regeneration Award (BURA) in 2008 for its achievements. The Butterfield Green Users’ Group (part of the Shakespeare Neighbourhood Residents’ Association) helps to care for the site through monthly community gardening days and regular events. The small park is in two parts, with an area of raised lawn bounded by low brick walls with some trees and shrubs, paths and seating abutting Wordsworth Road. Beyond this, abutting Shakespeare Walk, is a fenced-off basketball pitch and adjacent to this a children's play area, which was refurbished in 2022, with a mounded landform and sandpit as well as new equipment. Other facilities include ping pong tables and a playable stream, which has now been converted to a dry creek bed with a new water play space alongside.
A community orchard was planted on the site by local people in 2007 winning a British Urban Regeneration Award (BURA) in 2008 for its achievements. The Butterfield Green Users’ Group (part of the Shakespeare Neighbourhood Residents’ Association) helps to care for the site through monthly community gardening days and regular events. The small park is in two parts, with an area of raised lawn bounded by low brick walls with some trees and shrubs, paths and seating abutting Wordsworth Road. Beyond this, abutting Shakespeare Walk, is a fenced-off basketball pitch and adjacent to this a children's play area, which was refurbished in 2022, with a mounded landform and sandpit as well as new equipment. Other facilities include ping pong tables and a playable stream, which has now been converted to a dry creek bed with a new water play space alongside.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ332857 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | LB Hackney |
| Site Management | Hackney Parks Service; Butterfield Green Users’ Group |
| Dates | 1980s |
| 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 | Hackney |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes with Shakespeare Walk Adventure Playground |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Open Space; Green Link |
Gallery
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Nearby parks and gardens
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.
Newington Green was the centre of the old hamlet on the edge of Stoke Newington and Islington, and the area attracted wealthy residents in the C16th / early C17th. The village green had been enclosed to form a square in 1742 and from C18th illustrations it appears to have been a simple grassed area surrounded by palings. By the early C19th paths crossed the Green. In 1874 it was acquired by Islington Borough Council and the layout became more elaborate, with benches installed and a picturesque central kiosk, later shaded by trees. The garden was re-landscaped in 2004/5 with a Greenspace Rangers' office, new seating, lighting and bicycle stands as well as road improvements to the surrounding streets. A sculpture by artist Maggi Hambling commemorating Mary Wollstonecraft, who had run a school nearby in the 1780s, was installed in November 2020 following a 10-year fund-raising campaign.
West Hackney Recreation Ground was laid out as a public garden in 1885 on the site of the churchyard of West Hackney Church, after it had closed for burials. The parish had been formed in 1825 when the large Hackney parish of St John was divided into three to serve the growing population. The church was later rebuilt after damage in WWII. The oblong public garden has a number of gravestones in situ with others placed along the rear wall of the site. It is largely laid to grass with paths around a central lawn area, with shrubs, trees and perimeter beds, and a number of seats. In 2014 the garden was restored and re-landscaped; an area of the former churchyard between the church and the public garden, previously inaccessible, is now publicly accessible.
