Park of the week

135. Tower Gardens Park

This hidden gem, with its entrance between two houses, is in the centre of the Tower Gardens estate, in north Tottenham. The land had been farmland until 1901 when the London County Council purchased it. The estate was built between 1904 and 1928 and it was one of the first municipal cottage estates in the world. Originally known as the White Hart Lane estate and it’s now a conservation area. It was built using powers granted to local authorities by the Housing of the Working Classes Act 1900. Jewish philanthropist and banker Sir Samuel Montagu, Liberal MP for Whitechapel from 1885 to 1900, donated £10,000 towards it. He stipulated that his grant support the rehousing of the working-class residents of Whitechapel ‘without distinction of race or creed’, intending by that to meet the housing needs of the Jewish residents of his former constituency. The Tower Gardens in the name of the estate and the park comes from this Tower Hamlets connection.

The park originally had a formal design, but over the years the ground has been re-landscaped into undulations with informal shrub planting and a series of circular raised beds.  The ornamental iron gates and brick columns topped by stone spheres are still there, and the London plane and lime trees around the edges could date from the original planting. There are also shrubberies around the edges, which provide nest sites and food for birds. On the northern edge is a bank covered in grassland and tall plants. There are other grassed areas, benches, and a playground. There are no café or toilets. Dogs are allowed in.

There’s an active Friends group, who recently met to plant hedges. The hope is that the mix of field maple, hazel, crab apple, dogwood and spindle will bring flowers, foliage and plenty of wildlife to the park.
While we were there, the park was peaceful and quiet. We found space to park on a nearby street.

Judith Field

Tower Gardens Park, 137 Tower Gardens Road, London N17 7PE