- Southwark Park
Southwark Park is located in
Rotherhithe , in central South East London, and is managed by theLondon Borough of Southwark . It first opened in1869 by theMetropolitan Board of Works as one of its first parks. It was designed by Alexander McKenzie and covers 63 acres. [http://www.southwark.gov.uk/YourServices/ParksSection/AZParks/southwarkparkhistory.html]It received £2.5 million from the National Lottery's
Heritage Lottery Fund in 1998 which enabled large parts of the park to be refurbished.Facilities
The bandstand dates from 1884 and was originally sited in the
Royal Horticultural Society grounds atSouth Kensington . It has a sister inPeckham Rye Park .The Old English Cottage Garden was designed by Col. J.J. Sexby, Parks Superintendent for the
London County Council . The idea for the rose garden came from DrAlfred Salter , Member of Parliament for West Bermondsey. It was opened in 1936 and was named after Ada Salter when she died in 1943. [http://www.southwark.gov.uk/YourServices/ParksSection/AZParks/southwarkparkfacilities.html]Other facilities include a cafe, a wildlife garden, a boating lake and an art gallery.
Sports facilities include an athletics track run by Fusion, a bowling green, football pitches and tennis courts.
There is a "Friends of Southwark Park" group and a "Young Friends of Southwark Park" group to enable the community to get involved in the management of their park.
Trees in Southwark Park
As with many spaces within London, the Plane tree ("Platanus x hispanica") is dominant within Southwark park particularly the northern most section around the bandstand, which runs next to Jamaica Road.
However, the park is also rich in trees less common in London. Opposite the entrance to the art gallery is a Walnut tree ("
Juglans regia ") and a series of three or four Silver Maples ("Acer saccharinum "). There is as also a Red Oak ("Quercus rubra ") close to these maples. Next to the duck pond and the garden area there are three Swamp Cypresses ("Taxodium distichum "), although without the distinctive wooden 'knees' which sometimes surround trees of this variety.External links
* [http://www.southwark.gov.uk/YourServices/ParksSection/AZParks/SouthwarkPark.html Southwark Park]
* [http://www.cafegalleryprojects.com/ Cafe Gallery web site]
* [http://www.fusion-lifestyle.com/CentreDetails.asp?cat=36 Southwark Park athletics stadium]
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