Tristram Hunt writes in The Guardian about how park life is the best cure for city blues, covering some of the new green space ideas floating around in council governments, such as giving schoolchildren pedometers to use in the park to battle early obesity.
The interesting bit however, is the history of the parks in East London. The Select Committee for Public Walks in 1830 set out to provide green space to all of London’s residents, not just the upper crust to enjoy William Pitt’s “lungs of London”.
For East London it began with Victoria Park, in Tower Hamlets, designed by James Pennethorne. It was an instant hit, comprising floral displays, sandpits, fern house, lido and a fair dose of radical politics. Eleanor Marx and Edward Aveling lectured there in the 1880s, while many East Enders described it as ‘their university’
Victoria Park today is one of East London’s hidden gems. It contains countless varieties of trees: oaks, horse chestnuts, cherries, hawthorns and even Kentucky coffee trees. Split in two by Grove Road, the smaller, western section contains the most picturesque of its lakes with a fully functioning fountain and the imposing Dogs of Alcibiades, two snarling sculptures.
The eastern side sports the quiet of the Old English Garden, a floral haven brimming with flowers and shrubs, the deer enclosure and the children’s playground. Definitely a great place to spend an afternoon.
[tags] east london, william pitt, victoria park, towr hamlets, james pennethorne, eleanor marx, edward aveling, dogs of alcibiades [/tags]
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