Description
Leader's Gardens is a small public park lying along Putney Embankment between the towpath to the Thames and the surrounding late C19th/early C20th housing. The Putney riverside was used by boatmen and for boat building from at least the C17th, and for rowing from c.1830. Although there was a towpath by the late C18th, the Embankment as it exists today was laid out c.1890 as a recreational area by the Putney parish surveyor, J C Radford, who was also responsible for the slipway serving various rowing clubs, the bridge over the Beverley Brook and Leader's Gardens, which opened to the public in 1903. Radford was also surveyor to the Leader Estate in west Putney. The residential development came a little later than the layout of the Embankment and gardens. At the towpath entrance to the park the original cast iron gate and piers are in good condition, as are the original railings along the riverside, which feature very dynamic finials.
Practical Information
| Site location | Festing Road/Ashlone Road/Stockhurst Close (Riverside Path) |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SW15 |
| What3Words | ///during.harp.fight |
| Type of Site | Public Park |
| Borough | Wandsworth |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | 8am - dusk |
| Facilities | playground, tennis courts; One O'Clock Club |
| Public Transport | Tube: Putney Bridge (District). Bus: 22, 265 |
| Research Updated | 1 May 2005 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Leader's Gardens have been altered and extended since the original layout and the park now has a play area and a separate railed-off tranquil garden which slopes down to Beverley Brook. There are fine trees including mature horse chestnuts. The gardens used to have well-kept flowerbeds and shrubs, tended by a gardener who had a garden hut by the tennis courts, but this was later removed.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ235761 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 1.2 |
| Site Ownership | LB Wandsworth |
| Site Management | Parks Service |
| Dates | 1890 - 1903 |
| Designers | J C Radford, Putney Parish Surveyor |
| Listed Structures | LBII: bollards at either end of Spring Passage and along Embankment |
| 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 | Wandsworth |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Putney Embankment |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Archaeological Priority Area/Putney Embankment Special Policy Area |
| Other LA Designation | Other Larger Protected Open Space Site. Strategic View Corridor |
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
Barn Elms Park is essentially a landscaped path between Horne Way near the river and Lower Richmond Road. The OS Map of 1869-74 shows the layout much as it is today with a central path flanked by grass and trees, and a shallow semi-circular entrance at the south, with a small lodge.
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
Bishop’s Park first opened as a public park in 1893. The site formed part of the lands of the adjacent moated Fulham Palace, residence of the Bishops of London from the early C8th until 1973. As Fulham was being built over, Bishop's Meadow was donated to the Fulham Vestry for a public recreation ground with the proviso that the riverside would be embanked to prevent flooding. The park was extended in 1900 and 1903, when a lake that had a sandy 'beach' was constructed. Recreational facilities included bowling greens and tennis courts and until 1959 the park had a bandstand, replaced by an open air theatre for a time until it burnt down in the early 1990s. In 2010/11 a major restoration project enabled reinstatement of some of the original design features, including the lake and 'Sands'.
Bishop’s Park first opened as a public park in 1893. The site formed part of the lands of the adjacent moated Fulham Palace, residence of the Bishops of London from the early C8th until 1973. As Fulham was being built over, Bishop's Meadow was donated to the Fulham Vestry for a public recreation ground with the proviso that the riverside would be embanked to prevent flooding. The park was extended in 1900 and 1903, when a lake that had a sandy 'beach' was constructed. Recreational facilities included bowling greens and tennis courts and until 1959 the park had a bandstand, replaced by an open air theatre for a time until it burnt down in the early 1990s. In 2010/11 a major restoration project enabled reinstatement of some of the original design features, including the lake and 'Sands'.
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
Fulham Palace was a moated site and an important botanic garden from the C16th. From 701 AD - 1973 the land was owned by the Bishops of London, the Palace, built in the C16th, becoming their official residence in the mid C18th. Now a museum, the Palace has elements of the Tudor, Georgian and Victorian eras. The gardens reflect the C18th landscape design and the walled garden contains remains of an early C19th vinery. Over the centuries parts of the estate were sold or donated for public use, including the land for Bishop’s Park and the Fulham Palace Meadows Allotments, and was eventually reduced to the 13 acre garden surrounding the Palace today. Following WWII the garden fell into decline. After it ceased to be the Bishop's residence Fulham Palace was taken over by LB Hammersmith & Fulham and the garden opened to the public in 1974/6. It was maintained by the Council until 2011, when Fulham Palace Trust was created and restoration of this important garden began.
Fulham Palace was a moated site and an important botanic garden from the C16th. From 701 AD - 1973 the land was owned by the Bishops of London, the Palace, built in the C16th, becoming their official residence in the mid C18th. Now a museum, the Palace has elements of the Tudor, Georgian and Victorian eras. The gardens reflect the C18th landscape design and the walled garden contains remains of an early C19th vinery. Over the centuries parts of the estate were sold or donated for public use, including the land for Bishop’s Park and the Fulham Palace Meadows Allotments, and was eventually reduced to the 13 acre garden surrounding the Palace today. Following WWII the garden fell into decline. After it ceased to be the Bishop's residence Fulham Palace was taken over by LB Hammersmith & Fulham and the garden opened to the public in 1974/6. It was maintained by the Council until 2011, when Fulham Palace Trust was created and restoration of this important garden began.
