Description
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
Museum Gardens were once part of Bethnal Green Poor's Lands, an area of former manorial waste that under a trust deed of 1690 was administered to benefit the local poor. The Poor's Lands were divided in 1825 when a site was purchased to build St John's Church. In 1872 a parcel of land in the northern section was purchased to erect the Bethnal Green Museum, with the proviso that land not needed for building would become a public recreation ground. As a result the land south of the museum was laid out and opened as ornamental public gardens in 1875, originally known as Bethnal Green Museum Garden. The garden contains mature trees and continues to have formal displays, including a raised mound of carpet bedding.
Museum Gardens were once part of Bethnal Green Poor's Lands, an area of former manorial waste that under a trust deed of 1690 was administered to benefit the local poor. The Poor's Lands were divided in 1825 when a site was purchased to build St John's Church. In 1872 a parcel of land in the northern section was purchased to erect the Bethnal Green Museum, with the proviso that land not needed for building would become a public recreation ground. As a result the land south of the museum was laid out and opened as ornamental public gardens in 1875, originally known as Bethnal Green Museum Garden. The garden contains mature trees and continues to have formal displays, including a raised mound of carpet bedding.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Bethnal Green; Bethnal Green Poor's Land |
|---|---|
| Site location | Cambridge Heath Road/Victoria Park Square |
| Postcode | E2 |
| What3Words | ///track.scam.chop |
| Type of Site | Public Gardens |
| Borough | Tower Hamlets |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | 8am - dusk |
| Special Conditions | No dogs, ball games, cycling. |
| Public Transport | Tube: Bethnal Green (Central). Bus: D3, 253, 106 |
| Research Updated | 4 November 2021 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Bethnal Green Gardens: Site on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens, for Register Entry see https://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list. The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England was established in 1984 and was commonly called English Heritage. In April 2015 it split into 2 separate entities, Historic England (HE), which continues to champion and protect the historic environment, and the English Heritage Trust, whose role is to look after the 400+ historic sites and monuments owned by the state. HE manages the National Heritage List for England (NHLE) that includes over 400,000 items ranging from prehistoric monuments to office blocks, battlefields and parks, which benefit from legal protection.
The c.3.65 ha. of public gardens that now constitute Museum Gardens, the V&A Museum of Childhood Garden and Bethnal Green Gardens (q.q.v.) are the remains of Bethnal Green Poor's Lands, a c.6.27 ha. estate, itself originally part of the extensive commonable waste lands of the Manor of Stebonheath or Stepney. In 1667 this piece of land was purchased for £200 by a group of people from the then Lady of the Manor, Lady Philadelphia Wentworth, in order to prevent it from being built over. Including the cost of enclosure and other necessary expenses, the sum raised amounted to £332 2s 10d. As not all the purchasers were resident at Bethnal Green, the land was made subject of a trust deed on 13 December 1690 and conveyed to 27 local trustees, who were charged with administering the estate and distributing its proceeds, for example the profits from leasing lands, for charitable purposes to the local poor. The estate was named the Bethnal Green Poor’s Lands. A clause in the trust deed expressed the original wish of the purchasers that the land should not be built over and in the C19th enabled the residue of the Poor’s Lands to be laid out as public gardens. Among the expenses that were payable out of the profits from leasing lands were not only those of distributing coals and money to the poor, but also those for maintaining paths, gates and stiles on the enclosed land.
In 1825 part of the Poor's Lands was purchased for St John’s Church and Vicarage, which essentially divided the Green into two parts, north and south of the church, which was built in 1826-8 to designs of Sir John Soane. In 1868 c.1.82 hectares of the northern part of the Poor's Lands was sold by the Trustees as the site for the new Bethnal Green Museum with the proviso that what was not built on should become public recreation ground. The museum opened in 1872 and in 1875 the area now known as Museum Gardens was laid out as public gardens to designs of the Superintendent of Victoria Park (q.v.). This garden, then called Bethnal Green Museum Garden, was initially maintained by the Government; in 1887 it became the responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works under the 1887 London Parks and Works Act, subsequently that of the LCC, then the GLC and now LB Tower Hamlets. Museum Passage is the route of an old path across Bethnal Green, which is shown in the Horwood map of 1813. In 1872 it was planted with the present London plane trees to form a division between the public gardens and the Museum. There are also notable plane trees in the gardens, especially along the east and west sides, as well as a good variety of other mature and more recently planted trees. The gardens are laid out with winding paths, areas of lawn, and ornamental planting in island beds and a raised mound of carpet bedding, planted and fenced off. In the west side is a length of trellis planted with climbing roses and other plants. A drinking fountain stands near the south-west entrance gate, erected as a memorial to ‘Alice Maud Denman & Peter Regelous who lost their lives in attempting to save others at a fire at 423 Hackney Road on 20 April 1902 erected by public subscription’. Another memorial in the gardens commemorates two firefighters who lost their lives on 20 July 2004 during a serious fire in Bethnal Green.
On the south, the garden abuts St John’s Church. Museum Gardens won an award for its horticultural excellence from the MPGA in 2000.
The c.3.65 ha. of public gardens that now constitute Museum Gardens, the V&A Museum of Childhood Garden and Bethnal Green Gardens (q.q.v.) are the remains of Bethnal Green Poor's Lands, a c.6.27 ha. estate, itself originally part of the extensive commonable waste lands of the Manor of Stebonheath or Stepney. In 1667 this piece of land was purchased for £200 by a group of people from the then Lady of the Manor, Lady Philadelphia Wentworth, in order to prevent it from being built over. Including the cost of enclosure and other necessary expenses, the sum raised amounted to £332 2s 10d. As not all the purchasers were resident at Bethnal Green, the land was made subject of a trust deed on 13 December 1690 and conveyed to 27 local trustees, who were charged with administering the estate and distributing its proceeds, for example the profits from leasing lands, for charitable purposes to the local poor. The estate was named the Bethnal Green Poor’s Lands. A clause in the trust deed expressed the original wish of the purchasers that the land should not be built over and in the C19th enabled the residue of the Poor’s Lands to be laid out as public gardens. Among the expenses that were payable out of the profits from leasing lands were not only those of distributing coals and money to the poor, but also those for maintaining paths, gates and stiles on the enclosed land.
In 1825 part of the Poor's Lands was purchased for St John’s Church and Vicarage, which essentially divided the Green into two parts, north and south of the church, which was built in 1826-8 to designs of Sir John Soane. In 1868 c.1.82 hectares of the northern part of the Poor's Lands was sold by the Trustees as the site for the new Bethnal Green Museum with the proviso that what was not built on should become public recreation ground. The museum opened in 1872 and in 1875 the area now known as Museum Gardens was laid out as public gardens to designs of the Superintendent of Victoria Park (q.v.). This garden, then called Bethnal Green Museum Garden, was initially maintained by the Government; in 1887 it became the responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works under the 1887 London Parks and Works Act, subsequently that of the LCC, then the GLC and now LB Tower Hamlets. Museum Passage is the route of an old path across Bethnal Green, which is shown in the Horwood map of 1813. In 1872 it was planted with the present London plane trees to form a division between the public gardens and the Museum. There are also notable plane trees in the gardens, especially along the east and west sides, as well as a good variety of other mature and more recently planted trees. The gardens are laid out with winding paths, areas of lawn, and ornamental planting in island beds and a raised mound of carpet bedding, planted and fenced off. In the west side is a length of trellis planted with climbing roses and other plants. A drinking fountain stands near the south-west entrance gate, erected as a memorial to ‘Alice Maud Denman & Peter Regelous who lost their lives in attempting to save others at a fire at 423 Hackney Road on 20 April 1902 erected by public subscription’. Another memorial in the gardens commemorates two firefighters who lost their lives on 20 July 2004 during a serious fire in Bethnal Green.
On the south, the garden abuts St John’s Church. Museum Gardens won an award for its horticultural excellence from the MPGA in 2000.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ350828 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 1.0718 |
| Site Ownership | LB Tower Hamlets |
| Site Management | Leisure Services, Parks and Open Spaces |
| Dates | 1872-75 |
| Listed Structures | LBI: St John's Church. LBII*: Bethnal Green Museum, 18 and 21 Victoria Park Gardens. LBII: 4 lamp standards in Museum Passage |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | Yes |
| NHLE grade | Grade II |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Tower Hamlets |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Bethnal Green Gardens |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Gallery
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
Bethnal Green Museum was built on part of the remnants of the old Bethnal Green, 4.5 acres of which were sold in 1868 for the new Museum with the proviso that land not built on was to be public recreation grounds. In 1872 the 'Brompton Boilers' Museum was re-erected here, a temporary structure that had been built in 1856 to house the new South Kensington Museum, and opened as the Bethnal Green Museum of Science and Arts in 1872. In 1974 it became the V&A Museum of Childhood. The plane trees south of the building were planted in 1872 to form a division between the Museum and the Green and now separate the museum grounds from the public gardens. The museum is bounded by its original railings, with garden to the front and on either side, predominantly lawn with perimeter trees. 'The Eagle Slayer', a bronze statue of a boy was erected in the north-west corner of the grounds in 1927, but later relocated inside the museum, following substantial refurbishment works completed in 2006, which included re-modelling the front landscaping of the grounds. In 2020 the Museum closed for extensive alterations to the interior of the building, re-opening as Young V & A on 1 July 2023, with three new galleries.
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
Paradise Gardens is a small strip of land that once formed part of the Bethnal Green commonland within the Manor of Stepney. A Trust Deed of c.1678 prevented building over the commonland and enabled the profits from leasing the land to benefit the poor of the parish. This small area of garden, which complements the adjacent Bethnal Green Gardens and Museum Gardens, was once a 'west paddock' let to a gardener. The terraced houses of Paradise Row date from the C18th and early C19th. Paradise Gardens consists of a strip of grass with notable planes enclosed by railings.
Paradise Gardens is a small strip of land that once formed part of the Bethnal Green commonland within the Manor of Stepney. A Trust Deed of c.1678 prevented building over the commonland and enabled the profits from leasing the land to benefit the poor of the parish. This small area of garden, which complements the adjacent Bethnal Green Gardens and Museum Gardens, was once a 'west paddock' let to a gardener. The terraced houses of Paradise Row date from the C18th and early C19th. Paradise Gardens consists of a strip of grass with notable planes enclosed by railings.
Bethnal Green Gardens were once part of Bethnal Green Poor's Lands, an area of former manorial waste that under a trust deed of 1690 was administered to benefit the local poor. This part of the Green was purchased by the LCC in 1891 and laid out as public gardens that opened in 1895. Bethnal House on the east side of the gardens is on the site of a C16th mansion, Kirby's Castle, which was later used as a Lunatic Asylum from the late C18th, part of which was converted as Bethnal Green Public Library in 1914. The gardens have an area of formal planting in the north with open grass and sports facilities predominantly in the south. A memorial to victims of the worst civilian disaster of WWII when 173 people died in Bethnal Green underground station, which was then being used as an air raid shelter, was installed in the north-west corner, completed in 2017.
