Ufford Street Gardens

In the C18th the open ground here was known as Chalcroft Meadow, part of the Manor of Lambeth, owned by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. In the early C19th the area began to be built on by a Mr Samuel Short, who is recalled in a local street name. By 1901 the houses needed rebuilding and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners decided that part should also be set aside as public open space. Lambeth Borough Council agreed and laid out Ufford Street Recreation Ground, which was transferred to them by the Commissioners in 1907. Early OS maps indicate that there was a drinking fountain installed. By the late C20th half the park was laid out as an asphalted playground, the remainder having grass, seats and several mature London plane trees. A public footpath divides the park in two, running from Mitre Road (originally called Mitre Street) to Ufford Street. Having become neglected, in 2008 the park was restored through Heritage Lottery Funding with improved play and sports facilities and landscaping of the former asphalted playground. The work was undertaken by Groundwork, and the park was renamed Ufford Street Gardens. The garden again became neglected and overgrown and in July 2017 the Friends of Ufford Street Gardens was set up. Since that time the park has continued to be improved through further grant funding from various sources including Grainger PLC and G.A.Gilbert, We are Waterloo and WCDG. It contains a children’s playground as well as seating, paths and a diversity of wildlife features including spring flowering bulbs, native hedges and pollinator-friendly herbaceous borders. Ufford Street Gardens is one of Lambeth's Green Flag Award-winning parks, and a holder of a ‘Park of the Year’ award from London in Bloom. 

The park is within the Waterloo Development area. The name of the park recalls John de Ufford, who was to be Archbishop of Canterbury but who died in 1349 before he was consecrated.