Description
Surrey Docks Farm started life as a goat farm in the 1970s, and was then established in 1975 on a 1.5 acre site of derelict dockland between the entrance to Greenland Dock and the River Thames. The early impetus was to raise livestock and produce food from what was regarded as wasteland. In June 1986 the farm was re-located to its present riverside location at South Wharf, a historic site that had seen use as a shipyard, timber wharf, River Ambulance Receiving Station, and a station for the Auxiliary Fire Service.
Practical Information
| Site location | Rotherhithe Street, Bermondsey |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SE16 5ET |
| What3Words | ///pays.comet.figure |
| Type of Site | Other |
| Borough | Southwark |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | 10am-5pm (summer time); 10am-4pm (winter). |
| Special Conditions | dogs on leads |
| Facilities | Café (closed Mondays). Educational |
| Public Transport | London Overground/Tube: Canada Water (Jubilee), Bus: 381. C10 |
| Research Updated | 1 June 2015 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Surrey Docks Farm grew out of an initiative by local resident Hilary Peters, who began grazing goats and keeping hens on what was then some 200 acres of scrub and wasteland of the former Surrey Commercial Docks, which had closed in 1970 but continued in the ownership of the Port of London Authority. Her use of the land for a goat farm not only produced cheese and eggs for sale, but also encouraged others in the community to realise the potential of the neglected land for allotments, education and play among other things. In 1975 Surrey Docks Farm was more formally established on 1.5 acres of Greenland Dock, with goats, hens, bees, rabbits, donkeys and ducks, as well as dogs and cats. The lock-keeper’s office became a milking parlour and dairy among other things. In April 1980 the Farm registered as a Provident Society.
Relocation became necessary as the former docklands began to be transformed for commercial development. When the farm relocated to South Wharf in 1986 the animals were ceremoniously led along streets and riverside to their new home. The new site has a fascinating story, now publicly accessible in a history trail around the farm, created with a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. A major shipyard in the C18th, it became a timber wharf in the C19th, from 1883 was used as a River Ambulance Receiving Station, and in WWII and beyond it was a station for the Auxiliary Fire Service.
Animals reared on the farm today include a herd of goats, sheep, cattle, pigs, ducks, geese, chickens, turkeys, bees and donkeys and fresh food and produce is on sale to the public. In addition to an open animal yard there are a variety of green and horticultural areas including an orchard, herb garden, dye garden, vegetable plots, and a wild area, as well as a café, bee room, working blacksmith’s forge and adult education rooms.
Relocation became necessary as the former docklands began to be transformed for commercial development. When the farm relocated to South Wharf in 1986 the animals were ceremoniously led along streets and riverside to their new home. The new site has a fascinating story, now publicly accessible in a history trail around the farm, created with a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. A major shipyard in the C18th, it became a timber wharf in the C19th, from 1883 was used as a River Ambulance Receiving Station, and in WWII and beyond it was a station for the Auxiliary Fire Service.
Animals reared on the farm today include a herd of goats, sheep, cattle, pigs, ducks, geese, chickens, turkeys, bees and donkeys and fresh food and produce is on sale to the public. In addition to an open animal yard there are a variety of green and horticultural areas including an orchard, herb garden, dye garden, vegetable plots, and a wild area, as well as a café, bee room, working blacksmith’s forge and adult education rooms.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ366797 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.89 |
| Site Ownership | Surrey Docks Farm Provident Society Ltd |
| Site Management | Surrey Docks Farm Provident Society Ltd |
| Dates | 1986 |
| 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 | Southwark |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Thames Policy Area; Archaelogical Priority Zone |
| Other LA Designation | Borough Open Land; Borough, Bermondsey and Rivers Archaeological Priority Zone; Canada Water Action Area |
Gallery
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Nearby parks and gardens
Holy Trinity Church Rotherhithe was built between 1837-39 on land provided by the Surrey Commercial Dock Company, at that time quite isolated. It was designed by Sampson Kempthorne, but was destroyed in WWII when the docks were bombed on 7 September 1940, the first church to be destroyed in WWII. A new church was erected in 1957 designed by Thomas Ford, the foundation stone laid by the Bishop of Kingston upon Thames. The churchyard had opened in 1839 and was in use until 1858. In 1885 it was converted by the MPGA into a small public garden. It has a few gravestones by the entrance on Rotherhithe Street and a small WWI memorial obelisk dedicated to those who died in the parish.
Russia Dock was once was part of the Surrey Commercial Docks created in 1864 when the various companies owning Rotherhithe's C19th commercial docks amalgamated. Surrey Docks came to cover over 185 hectares, and was particularly important for imported timber. The Docks were finally closed in 1969; the linear wooded park was created by LB Southwark in 1980 from the former Russia Dock basin and part of the old canal wall and boat moorings are still visible. It contains a water feature that connects streams, a canal and lagoon, and two ponds. Numerous species of trees and shrubs were planted.
Stave Hill is on a site which once was part of the Surrey Commercial Docks, which were created on former pasture and marshland in 1864 when Rotherhithe's C19th commercial docks were amalgamated and came to cover over 185 hectares. The Docks were closed in 1969, and Stave Hill is an artificial hill created from spoil when the docks were infilled in 1985/9. From the hill are fine views and at the summit is a bronze map by Michael Rizzello, 1986, commissioned by the London Docklands Development Corporation. The hill overlooks a nature reserve created by the Trust for Urban Ecology, which was planted with saplings in 1987. Trees include field maple, alder, ash, birch, aspen, cherry, rowan and oak and numerous shrubs plus a number of ponds.