Brockwell Park
A hut in Brockwell Park
Location	London
Coordinates	51°27′03″N 0°06′27″W / 51.45083°N 0.1075°W / 51.45083; -0.1075
Area	50.8 hectares (126 acres)
Open	All year

Brockwell Park is a 50.8 hectare ^[1](125.53 acres) park located between Brixton, Herne Hill and Tulse Hill, bordered by Brixton Water Lane, Norwood Road, Tulse Hill (Road), and Dulwich Road in South London.^[2]

It is home to the Lambeth Country Show every July^[3] and an annual fireworks display around November 5.^[4]

The park also commands views of the skyline of the city and Central London. At the top of the hill within the park stands Brockwell Hall.

Brockwell Park contains a number of amenities, including tennis courts, a bowling green, a BMX track and a miniature railway.^[5]

  History

The Grade II* listed Brockwell Hall^[6] was originally built between 1811-1813 when the area was part of Surrey and was the country seat of glass merchant John Blades Esq. The land and house were acquired by the London County Council (LCC) in March 1891 and opened to the public on 2 June in the following summer, led by the local MP Thomas Lynn Bristowe. At the unveiling, he died of a heart attack on the steps of Brockwell Hall.

In 1901 the LCC acquired a further 43 acres (17 ha) of land north of the original park.^[7] In the 1920s, there were 13 cricket pitches in the park, which attracted crowds of up to 1,500. Brockwell Park was home to the Galton Institute.

A bust of Thomas Bristowe was returned to the Park and unveiled on its 120th birthday, 2012.

  Sports facilities

• The recently refurbished 1930s Brockwell Lido, an open air swimming pool^[8]
• An all weather pitch
• A bowling green
• A purpose built BMX track
• Tennis courts
• A Basketball/Volleyball court
• Grass and gravel football pitches
• Cricket nets
• A free weekly 5 km Saturday parkrun ^[9] 4
• 5 a side football on Sunday

  Family facilities

• A children's paddling pool
• A dog free children's play area
• A miniature railway
• One O'Clock Club^[10]

  Special features

• A café, inside Brockwell Hall at the top of the hill
• A walled garden with many flowers and herbs
• Community greenhouses ^[11]
• Three duck ponds

  Brockwell Park in popular culture

The San Francisco band Red House Painters wrote a song about the park, named "Brockwell Park", for their 1995 album Ocean Beach (album).

Pop singer Adele told the Sun that she was not performing at music festivals in 2011, preferring "sitting in Brockwell Park with my friends, drinking cider."

Brockwell Park is the setting for the music video of 'Do Your Thing' by local band Basement Jaxx.

  External links

• Friends of Brockwell Park
• Survey of London entries on Brockwell Hall and Brockwell Park (1851)
• Plan and elevations of Brockwell Hall
• Image of Brockwell Hall in 1820
• urban75 e-zine on Brockwell Park
• Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses
• Brockwell parkrun
• Sketch of Brockwell Hall and park in 1820

  References

London Borough of Lambeth Districts Brixton Clapham Crystal Palace Gipsy Hill Herne Hill Kennington Lambeth Oval Stockwell Streatham Streatham Hill Tulse Hill Vauxhall Waterloo West Dulwich West Norwood Attractions Imperial War Museum Lambeth Archives Lambeth Palace London Eye Lower Marsh Market Oval Cricket Ground Southbank Centre Royal National Theatre BFI Southbank Royal Festival Hall Queen Elizabeth Hall Purcell Room Hayward Bridges Waterloo Hungerford Lambeth Westminster Vauxhall Parks and open spaces Brockwell Park Jubilee Gardens Kennington Park Norwood Park Constituencies Streatham Vauxhall Dulwich and West Norwood Other topics People Public art Schools The Lambeth Walk