Links between the Greenspaces The Greenspaces around London Bridge shed light on its complex culture and history, and on the people and commmunities shaping its future as it continues to grow and develop.
Three ways to use the trail guide There are many ways to use the guide. Here are some you might like to try: The full trail Following the trail in full will take around 3 hours, and will introduce you to some lesser known corners of London Bridge along the way. Start at City Hall and follow the numbers in order.
Follow a theme Try exploring a set of Greenspaces through a historical, cultural, or gardening connection that they share. The diagram above shows some of these, but you may find more at www.atlondonbridge.com
Discover hidden secrets The Greenspaces and pocket parks around London Bridge are full of strange, hidden, and unexpected things. Some of these are listed in the guide: tweet @teamlondonbdg #greenspacetrail if you find them. And get in touch if you need a clue!
T HA M E S
LO ND O N
B R ID G E
R I VE R
LEY S TREE
ST
3
DS G R OU N
ER
TA N N
O ST
7
ST
W LAMB
Y RE ET
WESTON ST
ST
EET
OCC
E R ST
SE
AR K
ST ET
S
ND
HERM
ITE
O
STR
L E AT
WH
RM
9
S
E
BE
TY
T GA
RO AD TO W E R BR ID GE
6
MO R
UG RO BO
ET
4
GUY ST
T K S
TO OL EY FA ST IR RE ST ET RE ET
CRU CIFI X LN
OR S T
G
PO
C R LO
T
Y GR
10
AS ST REE
KIRB
DS
12
ME L I
REET ON ST
EL
LIN
NI S L A NE
W NO
I SF
KIP
T
S
CRO SBY ROW
AID C OU R
TEN
BOROU GH HIGH ST
OD
RE
WEST
11
EN STRE ET
LO NG
N
LY R O
2
ST
ST TH OM
13
B O ROU GH
5
Y
H H IG
SE
ET
GUY’S TOWE R
ME R M
HO
ND
STRE
O
MA S
T MA GD EL EN ST
RM
H S T
BE
ST T HO
THE S HA R D
W E AV E R
L A NE
1
BARNHAM
TO O
LONDON BRIDGE
TO W E R BR ID GE
CITY HA L L
14
NE W C O M
Area Map
8 LON
G L A NE
1. Potters Field Park 2. Queen Elizabeth Gardens 3. St John’s Churchyard 4. White’s Grounds Estate Garden 5. Gibbons Rent Community Garden 6. Tyers Estate 7. Tanner Street Park 8. St Mary Magdelen Park 9. Leathermarket Gardens 10. Guy Street Park 11. Greenwood Theatre Pocket Park 12. Melior Street Community Garden 13. Guy’s Memorial Gardens 14. Southwark Catherdral Grounds
About Team London Bridge provides services, information, connections and support to make London Bridge the capital’s best managed and desirable business destination. A number of these greenspaces have been founded or maintained by Team London Bridge and partners. www.teamlondonbridge.co.uk www.atlondonbridge.com @teamlondonbdg @atlondonbridge
Credits Research, illustration and design by Mill & Jones www.millandjones.com
1. Potters Fields Park
The best views of Tower Bridge and the Tower of London in the city can be found in Potters Field Park; the subject of an ambitious renovation by Gross Max landscape architects in 2007. At Tooley Street, a new steel portal with laser-cut Delft patterned screen references the historic pottery industry of the local area. Winding beds of seasonal and medicinal planting- laid out by renowned garden designer Piet Oudolfcreate colour, shelter and interest throughout the year. By the river, sweeping granite terraces create spaces to sit and relax. Can you find... gravestones marking the former burial ground?
3. St John’s Churchyard
4. White’s Grounds Estate Garden
Towering plane and horse-chestnut trees hint at the great age of this park, which surrounds the plinth of the lost church of St John Horsleydown. Designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor in the early 18th century, its eccentric spire in the form of a tapering column was a local landmark before WWII, and its base is still listed. Work by Churchman Landscape Architects has placed sculptural benches around the park, and created a gravel seating area under a parade of cherry trees.
Residents and community groups have greened the communal areas of this estate, once the site of the historic Black Eagle Brewery. Bamboos and shrubs have been used to screen exposed areas of blocks, and fruit trees, roses and herbs have been introduced into internal areas. The large internal courtyard has been planted with hazel, and large raised beds have been set up, producing salads, vegetables, and flowers for insects and bees. A composting scheme consumes waste from residents and fertilises the garden.
Can you find... the round basement windows of the lost church?
Can you find... the bee hotel?
2. Tooley Street Triangle
5. Gibbons Rent Community Garden
With its raised beds, benches and cast iron bollards, the triangle is a corner of traditional small-town park in the heart of London. Restoration works are being undertaken on monuments to two local heroes: Samuel Bourne Bevington, first mayor of Bermondsey, who stands proudly in robes of office in one corner, and dockers’ champion Ernest Bevin in the centre. Behind the pavilion of the recently Michelinstarred Restaurant Story is an impressive French Lime tree.
A historic and long-overlooked alley, Gibbons Rent was transformed into an innovative container garden by architect Andrew Burns and landscape architect Sarah Eberle in 2012. Local businesses and residents can contribute potted plants, ensuring a continuously evolving display of vegetation. A wide range of indigenous and exotic plants of different sizes create a quiet green space for rest and quiet contemplation, watered with rainwater harvested from the site. Users of the site can now borrow or donate books at a the Little Library, a new book exchange designed by Mill & Jones. Two new gates, created from recycled steel plate by Superuse Studios, mark the entrances to the site.
Can you find... the coat-of-arms of Bermondsey?
Can you find... the Little Library?
N
BOROUG H HIGH ST
RO
UG
H H IG
LO N D O N
ET
11
WEST
TO O
LEY S TRE
ET
CITY HALL
SE
Y
ST
RE
W EAVE R
ET
REET ON ST
K IR B
4
LA NE
LIN
G
Y GR
S
3
STR
EET
WESTON ST
BE
RM
O
ND
SE
Y
ST
RE
ET
7
E R ST
S A popular space for picnic lunches, the Gformer R O U N Dchurchyard of the 17th century church of St Mary Magdelen is still dotted with fine old limestone monuments left by the prosperous local tanners and brewers of the 18th and 19th centuries. The sarcophagi, miniature temples and obelisks are shaded by a stands of mature trees- planes, poplar, cherry, even exotic gingko. Seasonal planting and medicinal herbs behind the tiny 19th century watch-house are a reminder of the historic Bermondsey Abbey gardens which stood on the site of AD E RO IDG BermondseyTO Square the south. WE R BRto
1
TA N N
ITE
W
WH
BARNHAM
TO
F
2
E
ST
OL
AI R
8
Y S TR EE RE T ET
Can you find... the grave of Nathaniel Smith, a local tanner?
TO WE R BRI DG E
T HA M E S
TE
MAG DEL EN ST
5
GA
ST
LAMB
CRUC IFIX LN
S
6
ER
ET
OD ST
TY
AR K
LY R O
T
Can you find... the stone water fountain, built around the ruined tower of St Olave’s church? HO
9
HERM
AS ST REE
ND
12
ST TH OM
ME
L IO R ST
O
NI S ST
S
L E AT
RM
KIP
LD
10
GUY ST
BE
TEN
CRO SBY ROW
THE SHARD
R I VE R
LONDON BRIDGE
STRE
IE
ST
E
O ST
10. Guy Street Park
BR ID G E
A popular space for recreation and play, Tanner Street Park knits trees and planting around four tennis courts and a playground with climbing web and merry-go-round. The eastern half of the park is on the site of the notorious 19th c. Bermondsey Workhouse. Recently laid granite paths and blocks for seating are shaded by banks of hawthorn, hazel, rowan and cherry, while paved areas toward Bermondsey street attack shoppers and patrons from the White Cube gallery.
SF
CK
G L AN
8. St Mary Magdelen Churchyard Park OCC
GUY’S TOWE R
OW
R LO
SN
PO
LON
Can you find... a piece of brick from the old railway station (within the sculpture, sunk into a hole...) ?
9. Leathermarket Gardens
H S T
MA S
13
EN ST RE ET
T
L A NE
Innovative planting and artworks have been used to enhance the open spaces around the Tyers Estate. Existing stands of mature plane trees are complemented by beds of ferns and other shade loving plants, alongside edible plants, such as lavender, fennel and dill. The garden absorbs rainwater, taking the load off existing drainage. A towering new stone sculpture now marks the entrance from Bermondsey Street. Created by Austin Emery, ‘The Shared’ utilises stone pieces carved by participants of Leathermarket Community Sculpture Workshops.
MO R
7. Tanner Street Park ST T HO
NE W CO M
C OU R
LO NG
ME R M A ID
BO
14
BOROUG H
6. Tyers Estate Sculpture Garden
Named for the market which served the local tanneries and currieries, the gardens combine contemporary and traditional planting across two linked halves of a meandering site. Rolling mini-hillocks and mixed planting on one side lead to a formal ‘parterre’ style arrangement of roses, traditional wrought iron benches and impressive holly hedges on the other side. A mix of tree varieties, including silver birch, poplar, hornbeam and bronze maple are woven between the areas. Can you find... a recently created wildflower enclosure for bees and butterflies?
A builders yard and burial ground for Guy’s hospital until the 1890s, the park combines space for recreation with flowering planting and places to relax. Paths lined with beech hedges lead from the playground, with its tyre swing and spider web, past the basketball court, to shady arbours planted with jasmine and seating areas ringed with rowan, lavender and rosemary. New raised beds with herbs, seasonal flowers and shrubs create views, as well as screening areas for shelter and quiet relaxation. Can you find... the jasmine covered pergola?
11. Greenwood Theatre Pocket Park The brick facade and pavement outside the renowned Greenwood Theatre are being transformed into a new pocket park. The design, the result of a collaboration between fashion designer Zandra Rhodes and garden designer Joe Swift combines new trees, climbing and trailing plants on the facade, a mix of seasonal and flowering planting, with benches, arbours and space for passers-by to sit and relax. A new sustainable drainage system will improve rainwater drainage and reduce flooding risk in the area. Can you find.... a nearby building sharing a similar colour palette?