Myatt's Fields Park

Myatt's Fields Park is a 14-acre Victorian park in Camberwell in the London Borough of Lambeth in South London, England, 2.9 miles south-east of Charing Cross.

Myatt's Fields Park
Myatt's Fields Park in winter
Location within central London
TypePublic park
LocationLondon, England
Coordinates51°28′24″N 0°06′12″W
StatusOpen year round
Websitewww.myattsfieldspark.info

History

The majority of the area of Myatt's Fields belonged to the estate of Sir Hughes Minet, who in 1770 bought 118 acres of land from Sir Edward Knatchbull on the border of Lambeth. Minet was a third generation descendant of Isaac Minet, a French Huguenot refugee who fled France following the 1685 Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The names of some of the streets around the park, such as Calais Street and Cormont Road, refer to Minet's French connection.[1]

In 1889, Isaac Minet's descendant William Minet gave 14½ acres of land to the London County Council as a public park. The Metropolitan Public Gardens Association then spent some £10,000 on the layout of the park, it was opened on 13 April 1889. In 1935, William Minet's daughter, Susan Minet, gave a further quarter of an acre of land near the junction of Knatchbull Road and Calais Street to the park. Minet family philanthropy also resulted in the construction on the adjacent Knatchbull Road the neighbouring St James the Apostle church (now converted to flats),[2] the Minet Library, and Longfield Hall, a community hall.[3]

According to British History, 'The name Myatt's Fields commemorates Joseph Myatt, a former tenant who had been famous for the rhubarb which he grew there.'[4]

The park was designed by Fanny Wilkinson, Britain's first professional woman landscape gardener,[5] and was first opened to the public in May 1889.[6] It is named after Joseph Myatt, a tenant market gardener, who grew strawberries and rhubarb on the land in the 19th century. The Park's mulberry tree may date from the land's previous use as a market garden.[7]

Minet estate in 1841

In 2009, a £2.6m renovation of the park was completed with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Lambeth Council, as well as £300,000 raised by the Myatt's Fields Park Project Group. The MFPPG is run by local volunteers and chaired by Lindsay Avebury from 2000 until 2011.[8]

Minet estate in 1885

The singer Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine grew up near the park and has said that her earliest memory was of climbing trees in the park.[9]

The Park was once described by former Poet Laureate John Betjeman as a "strangely beautiful place."[10]

Features

The Park includes a bandstand, summerhouse, and café. It is also home to tennis courts, a football pitch, basketball court, picnic area, a children's playground and a community greenhouse.

In 2015, Myatt's Field was voted the 9th best park in the UK in a public vote organised by the Green Flag Award.[11]

References
  1. "Extended History". Myatt's Fields Park. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  2. "St James the Apostle, Knatchbull Road" (PDF). southwark.anglican.org. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  3. "Longfield Hall History". longfieldhall.org.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  4. "Myatt's Fields, Denmark Hill and Herne Hill: Introduction and Myatt's Fields area | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  5. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/bloomsbury-project/articles/articles/wilkinson.pdf
  6. "Park History - Myatt's Fields Park". Myattsfieldspark.info. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  7. "Myatts Field Park Mulberry, Camberwell, London | International Plant Location Database". Locations.sprouting.org. 15 July 2009. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  8. "Park's £2.6m makeover complete". South London Press. 23 June 2009.
  9. "Florence Welch - My London". Evening Standard. 30 July 2009. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  10. "Extended History - Myatt's Fields Park". Myattsfieldspark.info. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 December 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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