Pepys Park

Pepys Park is public open space created as part of the GLC's 1960s Pepys Estate, which was built over the site of the Royal Naval Victualling Yard established here in 1742. The park consists of a number of open spaces between the riverside and Grove Street. In the 1950s a playing field here known as Royal Victoria Yard had been opened by the LCC and in 1968 became Pepys Park.

The Royal Naval Dockyard in Deptford was created in 1513 for Henry VIII in what was then a fishing village. The Naval Victualling Yard was originally at Tower Hill, established for storage of provisions and clothing for the Royal Navy. In 1650 land next to the dockyard at Deptford was acquired, a warehouse known as the Red House was leased and the victualling work gradually transferred to Deptford, relocating here in 1742. By this time the Tower Hill Yard was deemed inadequate, although it did not close down until 1785, its site later becoming the Royal Mint. In the 1780s the Deptford Victualling Yard was largely rebuilt, with buildings designed by James Arrow c.1783-88. At its height it covered 35 acres, with a river frontage of 460 metres, and became the largest naval victualling yard in the country, manufacturing a range of provisions including biscuit, chocolate, mustard and pepper, and housing massive supplies of food, tobacco, rum, medical supplies and clothing. In 1858 the Yard was renamed the Royal Victoria Victualling Yard after a visit by Queen Victoria; it eventually closed in 1961. Warehouses were bombed in WWII but a number of the former buildings designed by James Arrow remained and were later incorporated into the Pepys housing estate, including a Gateway (1788) flanked by 4 large bollards made of cannon leads; The Colonnade (1768), once the original entrance to the Yard, houses and offices for the Porter and Clerk of Cheque, two former Rum Warehouses (1780) and Stables now converted to provide flats.

In 1958 the Admiralty had agreed to sell the 11-acre site for housing to the LCC, but it was under the GLC, which superceded the LCC in 1965, that the Pepys Estate was built between 1966-73. The estate was named after Samuel Pepys who was Secretary to the Admiralty in the reign of Charles II and so had connections with the area; he was a friend of John Evelyn who lived at nearby Sayes Court. The Pepys Estate was one of the GLC's most significant and largest housing schemes, with ten 8-storey blocks and three 24-storey tower blocks. It incorporated innovation in its design and aimed to engender a community through provision of amenities for all ages, including a shopping centre, play facilities for children, and clubs and community facilities for young and old people. It successfully separated pedestrians from vehicular traffic through a series of raised walkways that connected most of the blocks. It was described by Nikolaus Pevsner as 'one of their most confident pieces of brutalist showmanship, and also the only place where London's maritime historic buildings have been successfully preserved on a large scale'. 12.5 acres of open space were provided, with the GLC brochure enumerating 'a large children's area with ball court, paddling pool and other play facilities' and 'quiet green squares'. The layout of the estate opened up nearer the river, with landscaped/grassed areas. By 1966 the original scheme of 1,500 dwellings was completed and the Pepys Estate was formally opened in July 1966 by Lord Mountbatten, who dedicated the estate to 'the peaceful enjoyment and well-being of Londoners' (‘Lord Mountbatten at Deptford Home of the Navy’, South London Press, 13 July 1966), and in 1967 the estate achieved a Civic Trust Award for its design. The estate was finally completed in 1973. In 1971 responsibility was transferred to LB Lewisham.

However, in the 1980s the estate was beset with social and economic problems, with racism and crime playing a significant part. In 1992 regeneration of the estate was approved by the Department of the Environment through Deptford City Challenge, which proposed to revitalise the estate over 7 years. Consultation took place with residents and the Estate Action Plan put forward the demolition of one tower block, Merrick House, to be replaced by 18 new family houses with gardens in the centre of the estate; removal of some walkways, the community centre and the raised shopping centre. A resident-led community development trust, the Pepys Community Forum, was set up and among its projects was the creation of the Evelyn Community Garden on Windlass Road. Although some of the blocks were refurbished during the 1990s, a new plan emerged in 1999 when Lewisham Council revealed its proposal to demolish five of the low-rise blocks and sell off Aragon Tower (purchased by Berkeley Homes in 2002), in a scheme criticised for gentrification. Hyde Housing Association took over the estate from Lewisham Council in 2001. Existing council tenants in 222 flats were forced to leave with no right of return, resulting in protest by tenant groups and housing activists. The new scheme of five blocks and two terraces of 3-storey houses in its initial phases was designed by the bptw practice, a mixed tenure scheme providing 169 affordable units of shared ownership and social rented homes, the new housing overlooking existing green spaces. The scheme won the Best Public Housing Development in the Brick Awards of 2005. 

In 1971 when responsibility for the park was transferred to Lewisham Council, Pepys Park was extended on the site of another recreation ground on the north side of Grove Street. The borough's only riverside park, it is in two parts, divided by blocks of flats that are linked by a walkway. The smaller area, Upper Pepys Park, is next to the river and has a playground and once had a paddling pool. Abandoned red gravel sports pitches on the eastern edge were later turned into a nature area; in 1996 the playground and paddling pool were refurbished under Deptford City Challenge. A park keeper's house has since been built over with housing. Lower Pepys Park provides a large recreation ground. The Surrey Canal, which had been maintained as a feature in the GLC’s lay-out of the estate but covered over during redevelopment has been re-opened as a linear park. 

DeptfordFolk was established in 2015 as a parks group for Deptford Park and Folkestone Gardens (q.q.v.), to improve the two parks and the routes to them. In 2017 the group teamed up with Lewisham Council and Sustrans to apply for the Mayor of London's Liveable Neighbourhood scheme. In honour of John Evelyn, a project to plant 200 trees throughout the Evelyn Ward was completed in April 2019 with the planting of the 200th tree in Pepys Park.