Description
Fairchild's Garden, formerly known as Hackney Road Recreation Ground, was the site of the C18th Shoreditch Burying Ground, superseded in the C19th by a range of almshouses. The site still contains the memorial stone marking the grave of Thomas Fairchild (d.1729), a leading nurseryman and botanist. Fairchild's Nursery in Shoreditch existed from 1691 to 1740 and specialised in flowering plants. His tomb here was restored by The Gardeners Company in 1846, 1891 and again in 1949. The site became a recreation ground in the C20th, providing tennis courts and a planted area with paths, seating and shrubs in timber planters, and a number of mature plane trees. In 2017 the garden was re-landscaped and the three remaining gravestones placed upright.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Shoreditch Old Burial Ground; Hackney Road Recreation Ground |
|---|---|
| Site location | Hackney Road |
| Postcode | E2 8HQ |
| What3Words | ///bunny.long.joined |
| Type of Site | Public Gardens |
| Borough | Hackney |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Facilities | Table tennis table |
| Public Transport | London Overground: Shoreditch High Street. Bus: 56, 48, 55 |
| Research Updated | 15 October 2025 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Hackney Road Recreation Ground was the site of Shoreditch Burying Ground in the C18th, which was superseded in the C19th by a range of almshouses. The site still contains the memorial stone marking the grave of Thomas Fairchild (d.1729) who, according to the Worshipful Company of Gardeners, was buried 'by his own request in the furthest corner of the churchyard of the Parish of St Leonard in Shoreditch [q.v.], where the poor were usually buried, some 200 yards from the church'. His tomb was restored by The Gardeners Company in 1846, 1891 and again in 1949. Fairchild was a leading early C18th nurseryman and botanist, and first publicist of London Town Gardening with his publication of 'The City Gardener' in 1722 in which he described all the plants that would thrive in the polluted air of the capital. In c.1717 Fairchild crossed the Carnation with the Sweet William to create 'Fairchild's Mule'. He was head of the London Society of Gardeners, which published the first union-catalogue of stock in 1730. Fairchild's Nursery was in Shoreditch from 1691 - 1740 and specialised in flowering plants.
Writing in 1896, Mrs Basil Homes referred to an 'ancient watch-house' in the burial ground that was later used as a cholera hospital. In 1892 it was laid out by the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association as a public playground and was maintained by the Shoreditch Burial Ground. It later provided tennis courts and a planted area with paths, seating and shrubs in timber planters, and a ping pong table. The site is bordered on Hackney Road by iron railings with a gateway featuring a sunburst above it. The Recreation Ground was for a time home to artist Tom Wolseley, who exhibited his Cabin/et exhibition in a recycled shipping container, changing on a monthly basis.
In 2017 Hackney Council appointed Ares Landscape Architects to transform the public garden, with the aim of making it more welcoming and accessible. The recreation garden was renamed Fairchild's Garden, following extensive re-landscaping which included a wider new entrance and railings, planted beds, paths, steps to a raised circular paved area, kiosk and seating. The three gravestones remaining in the garden were placed upright within planted beds. Aside from that of Thomas Fairchild is the headstone 'Sacred to the Memory of Elizabeth, the Wife of L. G. Goold and Daughter of James & Susannah Eagles' who died 3 October 1820 at 31. A metal plaque providing the history of the site and Thomas Fairchild is set into the paving adjacent to one of the seats.
Writing in 1896, Mrs Basil Homes referred to an 'ancient watch-house' in the burial ground that was later used as a cholera hospital. In 1892 it was laid out by the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association as a public playground and was maintained by the Shoreditch Burial Ground. It later provided tennis courts and a planted area with paths, seating and shrubs in timber planters, and a ping pong table. The site is bordered on Hackney Road by iron railings with a gateway featuring a sunburst above it. The Recreation Ground was for a time home to artist Tom Wolseley, who exhibited his Cabin/et exhibition in a recycled shipping container, changing on a monthly basis.
In 2017 Hackney Council appointed Ares Landscape Architects to transform the public garden, with the aim of making it more welcoming and accessible. The recreation garden was renamed Fairchild's Garden, following extensive re-landscaping which included a wider new entrance and railings, planted beds, paths, steps to a raised circular paved area, kiosk and seating. The three gravestones remaining in the garden were placed upright within planted beds. Aside from that of Thomas Fairchild is the headstone 'Sacred to the Memory of Elizabeth, the Wife of L. G. Goold and Daughter of James & Susannah Eagles' who died 3 October 1820 at 31. A metal plaque providing the history of the site and Thomas Fairchild is set into the paving adjacent to one of the seats.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ335828 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.2025 |
| Site Ownership | LB Hackney |
| Site Management | Hackney Parks Service; Friends of Hackney Road Recreation Ground |
| Dates | C18th, C19th; 1892 |
| 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 | 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
There has been a church on this site from at least the 1140s when it was granted to the Priory of Holy Trinity, Aldgate. The current church and Clerk's House date from the 1730s. The birth of English Theatre is said to have originated in Shoreditch when James Burbage leased land in 1576 and built a theatre here, where plays could be performed since it was outside the City walls. Burbage and his sons were all buried in the churchyard, as were many literary and theatrical people and as a result St Leonard's became known as the Actors Church. The churchyard was extended a number of times and after it closed for burials was converted into a public garden in the late C19th. It was laid out with paths, areas of lawn, shrubberies and flower beds; most gravestones were cleared, although some remained along the back of the church and on the north wall of the Clerk's House. C18th cast-iron railings and wrought iron gates remained, and the stocks and whipping post under a thatched roof were in the north west corner of the site.
Ravenscroft Park was opened on 5 December 1990 by Dr David Bellamy. According to a plaque installed in the park, it was created 'for the people of Bethnal Green, with thanks to the Monument Trust and the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association for assistance with grants'. A community garden comprised of raised beds was created in 2015, gardened by children from nearby Columbia Primary School, together with parents and neighbours. Nearby is a circular mosaic set into the ground, relocated here from its former location in Brick Lane. It was originally created in the 1990s by artist Rachel Lichenstein with children from Thomas Buxton and St. Anne’s schools.
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
The central garden at Arnold Circus was created as the focus of the LCC's new Boundary Street Estate, the first major initiative undertaken to improve its housing and an early instance of slum clearance. The raised garden was created using earth dug for the foundations of the accommodation blocks and it was laid out as a series of terraces with a bandstand at the top level, with four sets of steps leading from entrances at the 4 compass points. Its primary purpose was to unify the new community. Throughout the estate are tree-lined streets and open areas between housing blocks, some with landscaping or play facilities.
The central garden at Arnold Circus was created as the focus of the LCC's new Boundary Street Estate, the first major initiative undertaken to improve its housing and an early instance of slum clearance. The raised garden was created using earth dug for the foundations of the accommodation blocks and it was laid out as a series of terraces with a bandstand at the top level, with four sets of steps leading from entrances at the 4 compass points. Its primary purpose was to unify the new community. Throughout the estate are tree-lined streets and open areas between housing blocks, some with landscaping or play facilities.
