Description
Formerly called Knights Hill Recreation Ground, Tivoli Park is an historically interesting site for its connections with the Maudslay engineering family who lived nearby and it was once part of the grounds of the Maudslays' house. Knights Hill was named after the Knight family who owned land in this area in the C16th. The site for the recreation ground was purchased with involvement of the MPGA in 1914, and it has been saved from being sold off a number of times. There is a playground at one end of the site and the rest has been laid out with grass, trees and shrubs with a path running east to west across the park.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Knights Hill Recreation Ground |
|---|---|
| Site location | Tivoli Road/Knights Hill |
| Postcode | SE27 0UF |
| What3Words | ///activism.saying.bumpy |
| Type of Site | Public Park |
| Borough | Lambeth |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | 7.30am - 15 minutes before sunset |
| Facilities | Children's play area (dog free) |
| Public Transport | Rail: West Norwood then bus. Bus: 468 |
| Research Updated | 19 July 2023 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Knights Hill is named after the Knight family who owned land in this area in the C16th. Formerly called Knights Hill Recreation Ground, Tivoli Park was renamed in 2010. It is of historic interest for its connections with the Maudslay engineering family who lived nearby. The park is on part of the grounds of Holderness House, built in 1839 for Thomas Henry Maudslay, son of Henry Maudslay who established his engineering firm in Westminster Bridge Road, Waterloo. Holderness House was purchased in 1914, and c.4 acres of the grounds were sold to Lambeth Borough Council to create a new public park, with involvement of the MPGA. The site has been saved from being sold off a number of times.
The Friends of Tivoli Park was established to look after the park, and projects have included planting a community orchard. There is a playground at one end of the site and a multi-use games court, with the rest laid out with grass, trees and shrubs with a path running east to west across the park.
The Friends of Tivoli Park was established to look after the park, and projects have included planting a community orchard. There is a playground at one end of the site and a multi-use games court, with the rest laid out with grass, trees and shrubs with a path running east to west across the park.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ320712 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 1.64 |
| Site Ownership | LB Lambeth |
| Site Management | Environment Directorate, Parks and Greenspaces Unit (Team Lambeth) |
| Dates | 1914 |
| 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 | Lambeth |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Parks Regeneration Area. Open Space |
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
Knights Hill Wood Nature Reserve is named after the Knight family who were landowners in the C16th. The Nature Reserve was formerly part of the grounds of Portobello House whose driveway between the road and the house divided either side of what is now the area of woodland. Portobello House was demolished in c.1949 when the Cedar House flats were built. The area within the former driveway of the house became wild, but in 1986 a proposal to build a doctor's surgery here was successfully opposed by local residents supported by the London Wildlife Trust, and it was opened as Knights Hill Wood Nature Reserve in 1989. It has a number of fine ornamental trees dating from the C19th garden.
Virgo Fidelis School is on a sloping site that is part of a historic C18th landscape, which was adapted in the mid C19th when a Roman Catholic boarding school and attached convent were built. There are remains of the original designed landscape, and the C19th landscape, including an orchard, cemetery and walled garden. The site now contains two schools, a family day centre and convent. Attached farmland to the east was built over for housing after WWII. Within the site is mature natural woodland that is a remnant of the old Great North Wood, which retains its boundaries and character as shown on early maps. The bones of the original convent and orphanage landscape can still be seen and apart from the abandoned kitchen garden it has been used for children's recreation for 150 years, overlaying the earlier C18th landscape.
Beulah Hill Pond had long existed as a watering place for cattle and horses, such as those pulling trams up Knights Hill. A railing across the middle prevented animals straying into the deeper water. Locally known as the Big Pond or Crown Pond, the name Beulah dates from the C19th and may derive from Bewlys Farm and Bewly Wood. The pond came under the auspices of Croydon Parks Department in 1954 and in the early 1960s it was a favourite place for skating in the winter.