Description
Loughborough Park is built on land that was once part of the estate of Lambeth Wick owned by the Archbishops of Canterbury, which was developed for housing in the C19th. In 1927 a small triangular garden at the southern tip of Loughborough Park was given to Lambeth Borough Council by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners with a contribution to the cost of replanting it, but this later disappeared despite protection under the 1931 Squares Preservation Act. In 1971-2 a new public garden was laid out on a large triangular site, once allotments between the houses.
Practical Information
| Site location | Moorland Road |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SW9 8UB |
| What3Words | ///probe.boxer.rated |
| Type of Site | Public Gardens |
| Borough | Lambeth |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | 7.30am - 15 minutes before sunset |
| Facilities | Children's play area, One O'Clock Club, adventure playground, sports facilities |
| Public Transport | Tube: Brixton (Victoria). Rail: Brixton, Loughborough Junction |
| Research Updated | 1 March 2012 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
This area is named after Baron Loughborough, honoured for services to the king in 1643, and who fled from England in 1649, returning in 1660. He lived at the manor house of Lambeth Wick, renamed Loughborough House, which was demolished in 1854 but had stood near the junction of Evandale Road and Loughborough Road. He was probably living here when he introduced an unsuccessful Bill in Parliament to make a navigable river from Brixton Causeway to the Thames. The estate was let to members of the Fox family throughout the C18th and C19th. The third Baron Holland began to develop the estate for housing and this was continued after his death by his wife, Lady Holland. Loughborough Park Estate was laid out between 1844-57, probably designed by Henry Currey who designed St Thomas' Hospital.
In 1927 a small triangular garden at the southern tip of Loughborough Park was given to Lambeth Borough Council by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners with a contribution to the cost of replanting it, but this later disappeared despite protection under the 1931 Squares Preservation Act. In 1971-2 a new public garden was laid out on a large triangular site, formerly the site of allotments between the houses. The garden is enclosed with brick walls and contains some older trees, with gravel walks around the perimeter, shrub beds, and playgrounds. A Japanese style garden was created at the north.
In 1927 a small triangular garden at the southern tip of Loughborough Park was given to Lambeth Borough Council by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners with a contribution to the cost of replanting it, but this later disappeared despite protection under the 1931 Squares Preservation Act. In 1971-2 a new public garden was laid out on a large triangular site, formerly the site of allotments between the houses. The garden is enclosed with brick walls and contains some older trees, with gravel walks around the perimeter, shrub beds, and playgrounds. A Japanese style garden was created at the north.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ317754 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 1.63 |
| Site Ownership | LB Lambeth |
| Site Management | Environment Directorate, Parks and Greenspaces Unit (Team Lambeth). Friends of Loughborough Park |
| Dates | 1971-2 |
| Listed Structures | (listed early Victorian villas to north, east and west) |
| 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 | Yes (part) |
| Local Authority | Lambeth |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Loughborough Park |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Local Importance |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Open Space. Protected London Square |
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
The land was part of the Milkwood Estate owned by the Archbishops of Canterbury, the area originally a wood reserved for use by Archbishops which was cleared by the end of C17th and the ground leased, together with an associated area known as Wickwood. It was open land until the1860s when it was developed largely by leases issued to Daniel Grant who laid out Barrington Road and Millbrook Road. By the 1950s rebuilding was needed and the LCC purchased part of this area from the Church Commissioners in 1953, part to be a new public open space. Around 1.62 hectares was laid to grass as an extension of the Loughborough Housing Estate in 1958. Part of Ridgway Road was bought in 1957 and the gardens were extended in 1961.
Max Roach Park was created in 1978 on an area cleared of its C19th semi-detached villas and terraced townhouses, as part of the Brixton Development Plan. It was initially was known as Angell Park after the local area, Angell Town. It was renamed Max Roach Park after the African American Jazz drummer Max Roach, who visited the park in 1986 to attend the renaming. The linear park is composed of 4 linked areas: amenity grassland, play facilities, trees, lighting and seating areas, and it provides a spacious setting in the context of the residential development and community use surrounding it, which comprise pre-war and later post-war housing immediately to the north. A nature trail extends from the park to Rush Common further south.
The site was once part of Rush/Rushey Common. Houses built here in 1839 were demolished when the new library was built in 1893, paid for by Henry Tate, who had settled in Streatham Common at Park Hill in 1884. After his death in 1899 his widow commemorated his considerable philanthropy by the purchase of Brixton Oval, which she presented to the local Council for a public garden in 1905, to be called the Tate Library Garden. A bust of Sir Henry was erected by public subscription and the garden was laid out with raised flower beds and surrounded with railings. In 1937 a small area was taken for road widening in the 1960s and the garden was redesigned, at which time the railings were removed. Windrush Square was laid out on adjacent land in 1998, named to commemorate the arrival of MV Empire Windrush from Jamaica on 22 June 1942. In 2010 the two sites were brought together as a single entity to form one open space as part of Brixton Town Centre Masterplan with new planting, lighting and seating.
