Description
Poplar Recreation Ground was laid out on a site that contained the former burial ground and almshouses of the East India Company merchants, which dates from the C17th. After the Company's property transferred to the Crown in 1858, the almshouses were demolished and the site was laid out as a public park by the Metropolitan Board of Works. It was opened to the public in 1867.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Poplar Recreation Ground |
|---|---|
| Site location | East India Dock Road/Poplar High Street/Woodstock Terrace, Poplar |
| Postcode | E14 |
| What3Words | ///invite.depend.indeed |
| Type of Site | Public Gardens |
| Borough | Tower Hamlets |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | 8am - dusk |
| Facilities | Playgrounds, enclosed tennis courts, sports pitches |
| Public Transport | DLR: All Saints, West Ferry, Poplar, Blackwall. Bus: 15, 115, 40, D6, D7, D8. |
| Research Updated | 1 September 2011 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Poplar Recreation Ground was laid out on the former burial ground and almshouses of the East India Company merchants by the Metropolitan Board of Works, and opened to the public in 1867. The East India Company's Hospital or Almshouses were initially established on Poplar High Street in 1628 to provide for disabled seamen of the Company, whose Poplar Chapel, now St Matthias Church (q.v.) was built here by 1654. The Almshouses were rebuilt in 1798-1806 as separate groups of buildings north and south of a rectilinear open space. Founded in 1600, the East India Company established its shipyard at Blackwall to the south, and this led to the growth of the small hamlet of Poplar particularly when the West and East India Docks were built in the early C19th. East India Dock Road was built between 1806-12 and public buildings, shops and houses were built along Poplar High Street. In 1858 the East India Company property was transferred to the Crown and in 1866 Poplar Chapel was consecrated as the new parish church of St Matthias. The East India Company almshouses to the north of the church were demolished in 1866 and the site laid out as Poplar Recreation Ground, now renamed Poplar Park.
Adjacent to the park is St Matthias Church (q.v.), and Harold Clunn, writing in 1950, remarked that 'the church...is surrounded by four acres of lawns and shrubberies, including tennis courts and greens'. There was a Bowling Green added in 1910 and a putting green in 1954. Near the main entrance on East India Dock Road is a Memorial to 18 children killed at an LCC school in Upper North Street by a German bomb on 13 June 1917, erected by public subscription. There are various areas of ornamental planting, lawns and perimeter shrubs with good variety of plants, and numerous mature trees throughout, largely plane. Near the Memorial by the entrance from East India Dock Road is a formal planted area with a railed central circular bed surrounded by wooden seats in a paved area (some York stone/some brick/some paving slabs) with raised beds forming the outer circle. The park has its original stone gate piers on East India Dock Road, and old iron railings around the perimeter on three sides.
Adjacent to the park is St Matthias Church (q.v.), and Harold Clunn, writing in 1950, remarked that 'the church...is surrounded by four acres of lawns and shrubberies, including tennis courts and greens'. There was a Bowling Green added in 1910 and a putting green in 1954. Near the main entrance on East India Dock Road is a Memorial to 18 children killed at an LCC school in Upper North Street by a German bomb on 13 June 1917, erected by public subscription. There are various areas of ornamental planting, lawns and perimeter shrubs with good variety of plants, and numerous mature trees throughout, largely plane. Near the Memorial by the entrance from East India Dock Road is a formal planted area with a railed central circular bed surrounded by wooden seats in a paved area (some York stone/some brick/some paving slabs) with raised beds forming the outer circle. The park has its original stone gate piers on East India Dock Road, and old iron railings around the perimeter on three sides.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ377809 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 1.8125 |
| Site Ownership | LB Tower Hamlets |
| Site Management | Leisure Services, Parks and Open Spaces |
| Dates | C17th; 1867 |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Memorial in Recreation Ground |
| 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 | Tower Hamlets |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | St Matthias Church Poplar |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Gallery
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Nearby parks and gardens
St Matthias Church started life as the East India Company's Poplar Chapel, built between 1650-54 at the site of the Company's Almshouses in Poplar. It may have been the first place of worship in the area. After the Company's property transferred to the Crown in 1858, the church then served the new parish of St Matthias. Due to declining congregations, in 1976 it was decided to close the church, which subsequently became neglected, the building and its churchyard vandalised. It was restored and re-opened in 1993 and is now used as a community centre. The overgrown churchyard has been cleared and laid out as a garden, and contains a number of significant monuments.
The Lansbury Estate was built in the 1950s as part of the LCC's post-war reconstruction of Stepney/Poplar to create a single community of 11 neighbourhood areas over a 30 acre site. Neighbourhood Area 9 was selected for the 'live architecture' component of the Festival of Britain in 1951, which became the first phase of the Lansbury Estate. An early instance of neighbourhood planning principles put into practice, the estate comprised low-rise housing; an open market square with shops, public houses and a clock tower; schools, churches and other amenities. Landscaping included amenity green space between housing, street trees, a communal public garden known as Trinity Gardens, and two small enclosed garden 'squares'.
All Saints' Church was built for the newly created parish of Poplar to serve the rapidly developing population. The churchyard was re-ordered on the north side as a public garden by the MPGA in 1893, completed 1905. The chapel of St Frideswide was incorporated into the church when St Frideswide's Church was bombed in WWII and All Saints also suffered some damage. To the south of the church is a small railed-off Garden of Remembrance, with flowerbeds and some chest tombs. Headstones are generally arranged round the perimeter of the garden, which has mature perimeter trees and fine C19th railings.
