29/10/2024 01:18:44 PM
167. Rosemary Gardens
Rosemary Gardens, in Islington, was opened in 1960. The London County Council had wanted to create a park because, at that time, Islington had the least open space of all London boroughs.
It was built on the site of the pleasure gardens of the Rosemary Branch pub. A tavern of that name has existed there since the sixteenth century. In 1783 a factory making white lead (a component of paint) was built on the site, with two windmills to grind the lead and apparently these were a local landmark. By 1835 the introduction of a steam engine had made the windmills redundant. Most of the workers were women, who were thought to be less susceptible to lead poisoning. Mid-nineteenth century Health and Safety had it that drinking dilute sulphuric acid offered some protection, but this was later abandoned in favour of drinking milk. Knowing about chemistry and pharmacy as I do, I can't see what good drinking sulphuric acid would do, and I’m not sure how efficacious milk would be either.
Production continued into World War II, when the white lead was used in camouflage paint for warships. The Luftwaffe targeted the factory in 1940, but the bomb failed to explode. In 1945, however, a V2 rocket killed two workers and caused enough damage to lead to permanent closure. After the war, less toxic alternatives were found for the lead in paint.
The park has a playground, basketball hoops, a football pitch, two tennis courts, a table tennis table and an outdoor gym. Jack likes these and makes a point of using each machine. Sometimes I join him, but usually I stand and scan the area for troublemakers and gawpers. I have been known to have a go on a swing if nobody is waiting: the first time I slid off onto my rear end because I wasn’t sitting properly but since then it’s been all systems go.
There are also large areas of grass, trees and a mini forest, and fragments of the cobbled streets that used to exist where the park is now.
Judith Field
Rosemary Gardens, 14-18 Southgate Rd, London N1 3DU
