Description
Harleyford Road Community Garden is on the site of a Georgian terrace that had long front gardens facing onto Harleyford Road, which by the 1970s were mostly demolished. In 1984 local residents began to grow vegetables on the wasteland and set up the Harleyford Road Garden Association to undertake a feasibility study. The community garden was designed and laid out from 1986-88 and continues to be maintained by local residents. It is divided into several areas and consists of a children's play area, lawns, picnic area, shrubberies of native and exotic species, a greenhouse and allotments area for herbs and vegetables, and a small pond. Recent features include a mosaic wall, extended mosaic paths and new benches.
Practical Information
| Site location | Harleyford Road/Bonnington Square |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SW8 1TF |
| What3Words | ///call.dating.swing |
| Type of Site | Community Garden |
| Borough | Lambeth |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | weekdays until dusk |
| Facilities | playground |
| Events | Participates in OGSW |
| Public Transport | Tube: Vauxhall (Victoria), Oval (Northern). Bus: 2, 36, 88, 185, 436 |
| Research Updated | 1 June 2010 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Harleyford Road Community Garden is on the site of a Georgian terrace that had long front gardens facing onto Harleyford Road, which by the 1970s were mostly demolished; the land was largely in GLC ownership and later the responsibility of LB Lambeth Housing Department. In 1984 a community garden was formed here by Vauxhall Housing Co-op, which set up the Harleyford Road Garden Association to undertake a feasibility study. Initially vegetables were grown on the former wasteland and from 1986-88 the garden was designed and laid out by local residents, who continue to maintain it. The garden is divided into several areas and consists of a children's play area, lawns, picnic area, shrubberies of native and exotic species, a greenhouse and allotments area for herbs and vegetables, and a small pond. There are a few mature sycamores from the earlier domestic gardens, but otherwise the planting is entirely new. It has a perimeter wall with a small ironwork gate on Harleyford Road. It is used by schools and nursery groups for nature study. In 2009, new features include a mosaic wall, extended mosaic paths and new benches.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ306778 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.6 |
| Site Ownership | LB Lambeth (Housing Department), leased to Harleyford Road Garden Association |
| Site Management | Harleyford Road Garden Association |
| Dates | 1984 |
| 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 | Lambeth |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Vauxhall |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Borough Importance II |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Other Public Open Space |
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
Bonnington Square was originally built in the 1870s for railway workers. In the 1970s the houses were compulsorily purchased by the GLC and an area of WWII bomb damage, now the site of the communal garden, was laid out as playground, but this later fell into disrepair and became wasteland. The properties were left empty, squatted, then leased until 1998 when LB Lambeth enabled the residents to form themselves into a co-op in order to buy the property. In 1990 they formed Bonnington Square Garden Association and transformed it into a 'Pleasure Garden', so named in homage to Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, which had been located 100m north of the site. The design aimed to be 'a unique mix of the classic English and the exotic tropical, of gentle textures and the bold architectural'.
When the post-war public park, Spring Gardens, was re-landscaped in 2012 it was renamed Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens reflecting the famous gardens of that name that had provided exuberant entertainment here from 1732-1859. Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens had developed out of an earlier place of recreation and assignation known as New Spring Garden, established in 1661 and visited by such luminaries as Samuel Pepys, John Evelyn and Jonathan Swift. Spring Gardens was created following WWII bomb damage on the former site of the old pleasure gardens although there is not an unbroken link between the two, housing having covered the site from the demise of the pleasure gardens in 1859 until 1970s slum clearance led to the creation of the new Spring Gardens in 1976. Two 18m high columns, erected as part of a re-landscaping scheme of 2012, adjacent to the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, mark the new entrance and evoke the spirit of the former pleasure grounds. Vauxhall City Farm abuts the public park, set up in 1977 as one of the Jubilee City farms with funds from the Silver Jubilee Celebration Committee. In 2017 on another former historic entrance to the pleasure gardens a new building, The Cabinet, was opened in 2017 with new planting introduced around the building and the Cherry Walk introduced to give structure, traversing diagonally the park from the new building to the columns near Vauxhall stations.
Vauxhall City Farm is on part of the overall site that was once Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, which were at the peak of their popularity in the C18th. The site and its contents were sold by auction in 1859 and all traces of the pleasure gardens soon disappeared as the land was re-developed for housing. In the 1970s these houses were demolished in the post-war slum-clearances. At that time the creation of inner-city parks was on the national agenda, as a result of which part of the former site was cleared and laid out as a park, Spring Gardens, which opened to the public in 1976. Vauxhall City Farm was set up in 1977 as one of the Jubilee City Farms with funds from the Silver Jubilee Celebration Committee. Today, the farm is home to over 100 animals, a riding centre, a cafe, and numerous education and youth projects. The farm has a small ecology garden at the southern end with a pond and herb garden.
