Description

David Copperfield Gardens were created on the site of the former private garden of County Terrace and is overlooked by the footbridge over New Kent Road to the south. In 1928 the neglected, irregularly shaped garden, at the time owned by the Trustees of Messrs. H C & M D Smith, was in the process of being sold to Southwark Borough Council for public open space. The houses of County Terrace were replaced by a local authority housing estate although the garden remained and was laid out with lawn, various ornamental trees, flower beds and shrubs and a statue erected by the Dickens Fellowship referring to a passage in Charles Dickens' 'David Copperfield'. The garden has been completely re-landscaped.

Practical Information

Previously known as County Terrace
Site location New Kent Road/Harper Road
Postcode SE1
What3Words ///woof.cubs.minute
Type of Site Public Gardens
Borough Southwark
Open to Public Yes
Opening Times unrestricted
Public Transport Tube: Elephant & Castle (Northern, Bakerloo) then bus. Bus: 1, 53, 63, 172, 188.
Research Updated 1 April 2008
Last Updated 18 October 2026

Full description

In September 1931 the Dickens Fellowship erected a fountain in the new public garden with a small statue of a cherub amidst a floral display. A plaque had a quote from 'David Copperfield' when Copperfield is on his flight to Dover: 'I came to a stop at the Kent Road at a terrace with a piece of water before it and a great foolish image in the middle blowing a dry shell'.

Further Information

Grid Reference TQ325790
Size in hectares 0.222
Site Ownership LB Southwark
Site Management Parks
Dates C19th; c.1930
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 Southwark
In Conservation Area No
Tree Preservation Order Not known
Nature Conservation Area No
Green Belt No
Metropolitan Open Land Yes
Special Policy Area No
Other LA Designation Gardens, Tier Three; London Squares Preservation Act. Strategic Views Backdrop Consultation Zone

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.

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Dickens' Fields

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Butterfly Walk before re-landscaping of Dickens' Fields, April 2002. Photograph Sally Williams
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