Description
Judd Street Open Space was created in the 1950s as part of Cromer Street Estate, which was built for St Pancras Borough Council in 1949-51 on a bomb-clearance site. In the C18th the area was largely pasture, although a bowling green is shown on the Cary map of 1795 to the north of the site of the park today. The Boot public house on Cromer Street also dates from the C18th. Adjacent to the park is the late C19th Church of the Holy Cross. Judd Street Open Space has been re-landscaped in recent years, including new gates with a leaf motif, winding paths, a dog exercise area separated by shrubbery from the main garden overlooked by the housing estate. A plane tree remains from earlier planting.
Practical Information
| Site location | Judd Street/Cromer Street |
|---|---|
| Postcode | WC1 |
| What3Words | ///twin.slurs.pace |
| Type of Site | Public Park |
| Borough | Camden |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | 7.30am - dusk |
| Facilities | Playground |
| Public Transport | Rail: King's Cross. Tube: King's Cross (Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City, Piccadilly, Circle, Victoria, Northern). Bus: 10, 30, 73, 91, 46, 214. |
| Research Updated | 1 February 2018 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Adjacent to the small park is the Church of the Holy Cross, built in 1887-88 by Joseph Peacock for the Revd Alfred Moore to which additions were made in c.1913; in 1936 some fittings came from St Jude's Church, which was demolished at that time. Cromer Street Estate was designed in 1949-51 by Hening Chitty. It has nine 6-storey blocks laid out at right-angles to the street, with lawns alternating with service courts to provide light and air; two of the blocks were refurbished in 1996. Judd Street Open Space has been re-landscaped in recent years and has new gates with a leaf motif.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ302825 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.2631 |
| Site Ownership | LB Camden |
| Site Management | Parks & Open Spaces |
| Dates | 1950s |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Church of the Holy Cross |
| 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 | Camden |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Area of Special Character: Central London Area |
| Other LA Designation | Public Open Space (Small Local), Strategic View Corridor |
Gallery
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Nearby parks and gardens
The Hillview Estate was built in the 1890s to house the poor and today comprises 210 flats, a layout of mansion blocks around central courtyards. Once bleak spaces these have been transformed into gardens. The area, once known for high levels of crime and prostitution, is now greatly improved although it was faced with demolition by Camden Council, unable to afford the necessary modernisation. However, the residents' collective, Short Life Community Housing, was able to save the estate and the buildings were sold to the Community Housing Association, now One Housing Group. Hillview has long been the home of actors, artists and musicians, including Kenneth Williams, Shane McGowan of The Pogues and for 25 years held an annual community festival. The courtyard gardens between the blocks show different characters.
Regent Square Gardens were originally laid out for the private use of residents of the surrounding houses built from 1829, of which only the terrace on the south side of the square remains. Maintained by a Committee of residents, the garden was an enclosed rectangle with exits on each side linked by a curving perimeter path and bisected by another path along its short axis, with perimeter trees and a few trees in the centre. The garden was later opened to the public. By the 1950s the layout comprised a straight perimeter path and central oval path, and further changes took place in the 1970s. The current layout of 1995 as part of King's Cross area improvements is closer to the original. Planting consists of shrubs and herbaceous perennial plants, the central area mainly laid to lawn crossed by a serpentine path, and the garden has a number of the original London plane trees.
Collingham Gardens Children's Nursery is a semi-wild children's nursery garden shaded by tall trees, but it was once part of the burial ground of St George the Martyr and a number of gravestones remain in the garden. In 1877 surgeon Thomas Cooke rented a corner of the disused burial ground for his School of Anatomy, which ran successfully until the 1890s but by the 1920s was derelict. In 1935 it was acquired by wealthy philanthropist John Cyril Lees Collingham, after whom the garden is named, and at his behest a garden for 'the welfare of children' was established. The site has been used as a nursery for over 50 years, and is now run as a co-operative pre-school nursery by local parents.