Description
Ravenscroft Park was opened on 5 December 1990 by Dr David Bellamy. According to a plaque installed in the park, it was created 'for the people of Bethnal Green, with thanks to the Monument Trust and the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association for assistance with grants'. A community garden comprised of raised beds was created in 2015, gardened by children from nearby Columbia Primary School, together with parents and neighbours. Nearby is a circular mosaic set into the ground, relocated here from its former location in Brick Lane. It was originally created in the 1990s by artist Rachel Lichenstein with children from Thomas Buxton and St. Anne’s schools.
Practical Information
| Site location | Columbia Road, Bethnal Green |
|---|---|
| Postcode | E2 7LP |
| What3Words | ///little.honest.dwell |
| Type of Site | Public Park |
| Borough | Tower Hamlets |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Facilities | Play area for over 5s; multi-use games area |
| Research Updated | 26 July 2021 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The park and nearby street are named after James Ravenscroft who owned land here in 1670. In 1689 he bestowed the land to the trustees of Jesus Hospital in Chipping Barnet, Hertfordshire. However, development of the land did not take place until the 1820s prior to which it was leased by farmers. The first attempts to develop the charity's estate were beset with problems that included corruption, poor workmanship, haphazard construction on-site and a lack of supervision. The successful scheme dates from the 1860s after the Charity trustees, including its chairman Reverend T.H Elwin and solicitor James Quilter, were joined by Joseph Baxendale of Woodside in the Parish of Finchley and Richard Durant of High Canons in the Parish of Shenley. In 1862, Bishopsgate surveyor George Clarkson was appointed and the site was cleared of buildings before new roadways and drains were laid out, and 372 homes were built under his supervision. Ravenscroft Street and Barnet Grove remained as previously named, with 5 new roads named after the men who played a role in the new estate: Elwin Street, Quilter Street, Baxendale Street, Wimbolt Street and Durant Street.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ338828 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | LB Tower Hamlets |
| Site Management | Leisure Services, Parks and Open Spaces |
| Dates | 1990 |
| 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 | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | 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
Jesus Green is a triangular 'garden square' formed when the GLC compulsorily purchased the former Jesus Hospital's estate of the 1860s. Part of the estate was cleared to lay out the green space, which remains flanked on all sides by C19th ranges of modest terraced houses. The garden has a central circular path and transverse paths, and is largely laid to grass with scattered trees and peripheral shrub planting. It is surrounded by metal railings joining ponderous brick piers at the corners.
Fairchild's Garden, formerly known as Hackney Road Recreation Ground, was the site of the C18th Shoreditch Burying Ground, superseded in the C19th by a range of almshouses. The site still contains the memorial stone marking the grave of Thomas Fairchild (d.1729), a leading nurseryman and botanist. Fairchild's Nursery in Shoreditch existed from 1691 to 1740 and specialised in flowering plants. His tomb here was restored by The Gardeners Company in 1846, 1891 and again in 1949. The site became a recreation ground in the C20th, providing tennis courts and a planted area with paths, seating and shrubs in timber planters, and a number of mature plane trees. In 2017 the garden was re-landscaped and the three remaining gravestones placed upright.
Ion Square Gardens is on the former site of Ion Square built in c.1845, which had terraced cottages on three sides facing a central communal garden. In 1886 the Kyrle Society approached the Vestry of St Matthew's with a view to opening the garden to the public. As a result it was leased in 1894 by the MPGA for a peppercorn rent, laid out and opened in 1895. In 1928 responsibility for the garden passed to Bethnal Green Borough Council. Most of the square's houses were destroyed in WWII bombing and in the 1960s the wider area was landscaped, although the site of the original garden remains demarcated.
