Description
This was originally the communal garden of The Paragon, a late C18th crescent. When the houses were demolished and replaced by a Board School the garden survived and was purchased by the Vestry of St George the Martyr. It was laid out as public garden by the MPGA and once had a bandstand. Part of the site was later lost as a result of road schemes when the Bricklayers Arms Flyover was built in 1970 although a strip of land was added to the west as compensation and planted with shrubs. Improvements have been carried out since 2009 as part of wider improvements to the Salisbury Row neighbourhood.
Practical Information
| Site location | New Kent Road/Searles Road, Walworth |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SE1 |
| What3Words | ///keep.ground.final |
| Type of Site | Public Gardens |
| Borough | Southwark |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Public Transport | Tube: Elephant & Castle (Northern, Bakerloo) then bus. Bus: 1, 53, 63, 172, 188. |
| Research Updated | 1 October 2011 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Originally this was the communal garden of The Paragon, a crescent built by Michael Searles in 1789-90. Searles was surveyor to the Rolls Estate and was also responsible for a number of fine building projects predominantly in south London. Only a few of his schemes survive, one such being The Paragon in Blackheath (q.v.). His house and office at 155 Old Kent Road, built in 1800, still stands. In the late C19th the crescent of houses was demolished and replaced by a Board School and terraced housing, but the former garden, an acre in size, was sold to the Vestry of St George the Martyr by its then owner, Lord Llangattock. He was a member of the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association and personally contributed £1,000 to the total cost of £3,400, with the LCC providing £1,700. It was laid out by the MPGA for £350 and was opened to the public by Lady Llangattock on 28 June 1899 (1889). The garden originally had a central bandstand and was scheduled under the London Squares Preservation Act of 1931. Since then much of the planting and features have been lost. Since 2009, Southwark Council, in partnership with Transport for London, Walworth Community Council and local residents has implemented several improvement schemes in the Salisbury Row area including improvements to Paragon Gardens, which were completed in 2010. The regeneration of the area between New Kent Road and Old Kent Road included planting of over 70 trees, 3,600 plants and 7,500 bulbs, creation of a new 'civic' zone for residents, some one-way working streets and a 20 mph speed limit throughout the whole scheme area, won a National Transport Award in 2011.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ328789 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.597 |
| Site Ownership | LB Southwark |
| Site Management | Parks |
| Dates | 1899 |
| 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 |
| Local Authority | Southwark |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Gardens, Tier Three; London Squares Preservation Act. Strategic Views Backdrop Consultation Zone |
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
David Copperfield Gardens were created on the site of the former private garden of County Terrace and is overlooked by the footbridge over New Kent Road to the south. In 1928 the neglected, irregularly shaped garden, at the time owned by the Trustees of Messrs. H C & M D Smith, was in the process of being sold to Southwark Borough Council for public open space. The houses of County Terrace were replaced by a local authority housing estate although the garden remained and was laid out with lawn, various ornamental trees, flower beds and shrubs and a statue erected by the Dickens Fellowship referring to a passage in Charles Dickens' 'David Copperfield'. The garden has been completely re-landscaped.
The southern portion of today's Nursery Row Park was laid out sometime between 1885-97, to provide open space for the growing local population. Known as East Street Recreation Ground, the park lay between Blendon Row and Orb Street. The MPGA assisted with funding for the layout and planting, which included perimeter plane trees that still survive today. In 1980 the park was extended to the north following slum clearance that saw demolition of streets including Nursery Row, after which the park was renamed,
The Tabart Estate was one of the LCC's early slum clearance schemes, planned in 1910 and extended later. The blocks of flats are grouped around a rectangular garden with its original railings. Tabard Gardens provides recreational space for the estate. It is divided into three spaces: a playground, a grass square with seats, and an area formed into a mound and planted with shrubs, now a wildlife area with paths through it, which separates this part of the gardens from the large grass area at the north end.
