Description
The courtyard garden of the Jamyang Buddhist Centre was originally the prisoners' exercise yard of the Old Kennington Courthouse. Built in 1869 as a police court, and later becoming Lambeth Magistrates Court, this is the last surviving Victorian courthouse in London. The building was in poor repair in 1995 when it was purchased for the Jamyang Buddhist Centre and restored by a large group of volunteers. His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited the Centre in 1999. The courtyard, retaining its Victorian cobblestones, has been transformed into a meditative garden, with a statue of Buddha.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Kennington Courthouse; The Old Courthouse |
|---|---|
| Site location | 43 Renfrew Road |
| Postcode | SE11 4NA |
| What3Words | ///vase.copper.rabble |
| Type of Site | Private Garden |
| Borough | Lambeth |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | Mon-Fri 10am - 6pm (& during evening/weekend classes) |
| Facilities | Café, shop |
| Events | See website for programme. |
| Public Transport | Tube: Elephant & Castle (Bakerloo, Northern), Kennington (Northern). Bus: 3, 59, 109, 133, 155, 159, 196, 333. |
| Research Updated | 1 January 2018 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Originally a Police Court, the Old Courthouse opened in 1869 and was designed by the Police Surveyor, Thomas Charles Sorby (1836-1924), who also designed two surviving police stations in London, in Clerkenwell and Rochester Row, Westminster. The Old Courthouse had a single court room, two-storey cell block and holding 'tank' where prisoners were held before being taken to the dock. It was later used as Lambeth's Magistrates Court. Opposite to the Courthouse was Kennington Lane Police Station, which closed in 1932 and replaced in 1938 by the Police Section House. This is now part of a group of buildings built in Tudor Gothic revival style that includes a former fire station, infirmary and the workhouse where Charlie Chaplin reputedly stayed.
In 1990, the court was finally closed, after which the building remained empty and fell into disrepair. When it was eventually put up for sale, among those interested was Mother Theresa of Calcutta, who proposed to convert it as a homeless project but this failed to get planning permission. Jamyang Buddhist Centre then put forward a proposal to use the building, as did property developers Headland Weald for conversion into luxury apartments. However, the Victorian Society supported the former project over the residential scheme and on 1 November 1995 the old courthouse was sold by auction to Jamyang Buddhist Centre. Restoration works were undertaken by volunteers and others over the next years. The gated courtyard, which used to be the high security area, was transformed into a secluded meditative garden, with raised beds and pots planted with shrubs, climbers, perennials, herbs, fruit, vegetables, annuals and wildflowers. A stone-carved Parinirvana Buddha statue made by sculptor Nick Durnham has been installed in the garden, with at its base a small fountain set on an old Victorian safe that was found on the site. Flowers provide decoration for the rooms in the Centre and the café offers food made from produce of the garden. The Centre is also committed to bringing community use back into the building, and it is now also used by local health, non-profit and community groups. Jamyang won the August 2010 Conservation Foundation's prize for the best Sacred Space in London, and the courtyard garden took the 'London Green Corners Award - For brightening London and enriching the biodiversity'.
In 1990, the court was finally closed, after which the building remained empty and fell into disrepair. When it was eventually put up for sale, among those interested was Mother Theresa of Calcutta, who proposed to convert it as a homeless project but this failed to get planning permission. Jamyang Buddhist Centre then put forward a proposal to use the building, as did property developers Headland Weald for conversion into luxury apartments. However, the Victorian Society supported the former project over the residential scheme and on 1 November 1995 the old courthouse was sold by auction to Jamyang Buddhist Centre. Restoration works were undertaken by volunteers and others over the next years. The gated courtyard, which used to be the high security area, was transformed into a secluded meditative garden, with raised beds and pots planted with shrubs, climbers, perennials, herbs, fruit, vegetables, annuals and wildflowers. A stone-carved Parinirvana Buddha statue made by sculptor Nick Durnham has been installed in the garden, with at its base a small fountain set on an old Victorian safe that was found on the site. Flowers provide decoration for the rooms in the Centre and the café offers food made from produce of the garden. The Centre is also committed to bringing community use back into the building, and it is now also used by local health, non-profit and community groups. Jamyang won the August 2010 Conservation Foundation's prize for the best Sacred Space in London, and the courtyard garden took the 'London Green Corners Award - For brightening London and enriching the biodiversity'.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ316787 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.012 |
| Site Ownership | Jamyang Buddhist Centre |
| Site Management | Jamyang Buddhist Centre; gardener, Anne Swindell (2017) |
| Dates | 1869; 1995 |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Kennington Courthouse |
| 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 | to check |
| 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
Former site of the medieval parish church and burial ground of St Mary Newington, which was demolished in 1876 when Newington Butts was widened as the area became busier; a new church was built in Kennington Park Road. The site was transformed into a garden and opened to the public in 1879, with a clock tower erected in 1877 on the site of the old church. The clock tower was demolished in 1971, its position marked by a memorial stone. A number of gravestones remain along the Churchyard Row boundary. In 2007/8 the garden was re-landscaped to provide improved facilities including a new children's playground with many natural play features, a central grass area surrounded by mature London planes and a plaza area with seating and raised planters.
The land that became West Square was first leased out in 1791 by the owners, the Temple West family, from whom the square gets its name, the terraces were built by 1794 with a garden laid out by 1799. When the Bethlehem Royal Hospital moved to St George's Fields, its senior hospital staff needed accommodation nearby and West Square was laid out with terraces surrounding the garden. By 1813 it appears to have had a formal layout but it was much simplified by 1870. Threatened with development in the late C19th, the garden was saved for public open space by the MPGA in 1909, and laid out by their landscape gardener Madeline Agar. The cruciform layout was restored and the garden opened to the public in 1910. In the centre is a rose garden with sundial; a tree was planted here on 14 September 1991 to celebrate the bicentenary of West Square. The garden at one point had 4 black mulberries.
Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park was created when the Bethlehem Royal Asylum, first located here in 1815, moved to Bromley in 1926. The land and buildings were purchased by Viscount Rothermere, proprietor of the Daily Mail, who presented it to the LCC for use as a public park in memory of his mother, Geraldine Mary Harmsworth. It was opened in 1934 by Lord Snell, then Chairman of the LCC. Within the park is the remains of the hospital building, which was converted into the Imperial War Museum in the 1930s. The park features mature trees and is an important green space in this crowded area of Southwark.