Description

In c.1950 the site for a library was acquired by Lewisham Council from the Mercers’ Company, who had bought land as a playing field in Grove Park in 1930. Grove Park Library was opened in December 1953. The Library Gardens provides residents of this part of Grove Park with a green space with play equipment for the under 7s, recreational space and benches. It is located behind Grove Park Community Library and Little Stars pre-school building with entrance on Burnt Ash Hill. The perimeter is surrounded by established hedges of leylandii, hawthorn and ivy with several prominent trees, including oak and sycamore, particularly on the north and east sides. There is also a prominent oak in the green space. Metal fencing separates the rear entrances of the library and the pre-school building from the park. There is no public access to the Library Gardens from the library or Little Stars Pre-school.

Practical Information

Site location Somertrees Avenue, Burnt Ash Hill, Grove Park
Postcode SE12 0BX
What3Words ///page.mount.submit
Type of Site Public Park
Borough Lewisham
Open to Public Yes
Opening Times 8am - sunset.
Special Conditions No dogs
Facilities Children's playground for under 5s
Public Transport Rail: Grove Park (Southeastern). Bus: 284 or 273 to Coopers Lane
Research Updated 14 August 2024
Last Updated 18 October 2026

Full description

It was not until the C18th that the area known as Grove Park came into existence. It was located in dense, ancient woodland at the south of the parish of Lee. During the C18th much of the woodland was cleared, with activity in the area including charcoal burning, which may have given rise to the name Burnt Ash. After clearance, the land was used for farming including Grove Farm, which gave its name to the parish. 

In c.1950 the site of 1.46 acres for a library was acquired by Lewisham Council from the Mercers’ Company, who had bought land as a playing field in Grove Park in 1930, at the junction of Burnt Ash Hill and Marvels Lane. Building started at the end of 1952 and the library was opened in December 1953 with Herbert Morrison MP for South Lewisham present at the opening.

In the 1960s the GLC announced plans to create a new highway called Ringway 2, which was to replace the South Circular. The plans would have meant the demolition of Grove Park Library and the loss of the Library Gardens as well as a number of houses on Coopers Lane, Baring Road and Somertrees Avenue. The plans were fiercely opposed and in 1972 were withdrawn. The very wide grass verge on Coopers Lane opposite the Library Gardens is a legacy of this scheme. The Library Gardens continue to provide residents of this part of Grove Park with a green space with play equipment for the under 7s, recreational space and benches. The gardens are located behind Grove Park Community Library and Little Stars pre-school building with entrance on Burnt Ash Hill. The perimeter is surrounded by established hedges of leylandii, hawthorn and ivy with several prominent trees, including oak and sycamore, particularly on the north and east sides. There is also a prominent oak in the green space. Metal fencing separates the rear entrances of the library and the pre-school building from the park. There is no public access to the Library Gardens from the library or Little Stars Pre-school. In 2023 Grove Park Library closed but this has proved temporary as it re-opened in early 2024, managed by Lewisham Council’s new community partner S&B Childcare.

The Green Chain/Capital Ring walk passes by the Library Gardens, as do cycle routes to Lee and Bellingham and the London Network cycle route 26. All are clearly signed from the Library Gardens.

Edith Nesbit was a notable resident of Grove Park living here between 1894 and 1899.  Her home, Three Gables, backed onto the railway and there are suggestions that it may have inspired 'The Railway Children'. The house no longer exists but part of its garden is now Grove Park Nature Reserve (q.v.) and she is remembered by Railway Children Walk, a path which forms part of the Green Chain Walk and the Grove Park Heritage Trail.

Further Information

Grid Reference TQ407507
Size in hectares 0.79
Site Ownership LB Lewisham
Site Management Glendale Grounds Management
Dates 1950/1953
Designers Unknown
Listed Structures None
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 Lewisham
In Conservation Area No
Tree Preservation Order No
Nature Conservation Area No
Green Belt No
Metropolitan Open Land Yes

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

  • Lewisham
  • 0.3 miles away

Grove Park Nature Reserve

In the mid C18th the area that is now Grove Park Nature Reserve and the majority of the surrounding area was in agricultural use. The railway line from Charing Cross to Tonbridge opened in 1865, the railway company owning most of the land either side of the line between St Mildred's Road and Grove Park station. In the late C19th and early C20th what is now the southern end of the reserve had a row of tennis courts. The land immediately north of this was within the garden of a large house on Baring Road from the late C19th, and became wooded early in the C20th. Between 1894-99, writer and poet, Edith Nesbit lived in Three Gables, a large house on Baring Road, her garden backing up to the railway line, overlapping with what is now the southern part of Grove Park Nature Reserve. The footpath running along the southern side of the nature reserve has been named Railway Children Walk in memory of the author and her most famous book, 'The Railway Children'. Up until the 1980s, the strip of land along the east side of the railway line from St Mildred's Road in the north to Grove Park in the south was used mostly as allotments, part of the 'Dig for Victory' campaign in WWII. For many years local residents informally used the site for recreation, but in 1984 it officially became a nature reserve when Lewisham Council agreed to manage the area under licence from British Rail. In 1987 Lewisham acquired freehold of the land; initially known as Hither Green Nature Reserve, in 2007 the site's name was changed to Grove Park Nature Reserve. The Friends of Grove Park Local  Nature Reserve was set up and works alongside Lewisham Council to manage the site.
Grove Park Nature Reserve, April 2026. Photograph Helen Monger
  • Lewisham
  • 0.5 miles away

Chinbrook Meadows and Chinbrook Community Orchard

Chinbrook Meadows is so-called after the River Quaggy, which was also known as the Chin Brook or Kyd Brook, and runs along the lower part of the park. The park began life in 1929 as a playground provided for residents of the LCC's new Grove Park Estate. The recreation ground was enlarged in 1937, mainly providing sports facilities. The southern area was later taken over for allotments, part of which is now the site of Chinbrook Community Orchard. In 2000 a new scheme to re-landscape the park was agreed following local consultation, the works completed in 2002. The Quaggy was naturalised as a meandering river and the newly landscaped park is also designed to hold floodwater, minimising the risk of flood damage to surrounding houses. In 2009 a Peace Garden was opened by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who had lived nearby in the 1970s.
  • Lewisham
  • 0.6 miles away

Northbrook Park

Northbrook Park opened on 14 March 1903, and was created after a deputation of residents attended the LCC's Parks and Open Spaces Committee in 1898 when they were informed of an offer made in 1897 to present the land to the public by the Earl of Northbrook in commemoration of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. The site was a field known as Ten Acres Field, although it was more like 9 acres. The park was designed by Lt Col J J Sexby, Chief Officer of the LCC's Parks Department.