Tabard Gardens

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

LocationLondon
Coordinates51°29′55″N 0°05′21″W / 51.4986082°N 0.0890381°W / 51.4986082; -0.0890381[2]
Area1.762 hectares (4.354 acres)[3]
Tabard Gardens
Tabard Gardens has a large grassed area and is surrounded by houses and flats
Tabard Gardens is located in the northern part of the London Borough of Southwark, in a built-up area a short distance from the River Thames
Tabard Gardens is located in the northern part of the London Borough of Southwark, in a built-up area a short distance from the River Thames
Location within the London Borough of Southwark
LocationLondon
OS gridTQ327794[1]
Coordinates51°29′55″N 0°05′21″W / 51.4986082°N 0.0890381°W / 51.4986082; -0.0890381[2]
Area1.762 hectares (4.354 acres)[3]
Opened1929[4]
EtymologyFrom Tabard Street or the former Tabard public house
Managed bySouthwark Council[5]
OpenDaily from 7:30am until around sunset[6]
AwardsGreen Flag Award[7]
FacilitiesChildren’s play area, outdoor gym, table tennis tables, artificial grass pitches, multi-use sports pitches[8]
Websitewww.southwark.gov.uk/parks-and-open-spaces/parks/tabard-gardens

Tabard Gardens is a small park in Southwark, London. It is located on Tabard Street[9] (itself named after the former Tabard public house) and gives its name to the surrounding Tabard Gardens Estate.[10] The park was created as part of a slum clearance programme by the London County Council[11] and opened in 1929.[4] It is owned and managed by Southwark Council.[12][5]

David Idowu memorial bench

Tabard Gardens, which holds a Green Flag Award,[7] has large grassed areas, a wildlife area and a children's play area.[8]

An artificial grass football pitch is available to book for a fee.[13] Either the full pitch or half the pitch can be booked for an hour at a time.[14] Built in 2000 and refurbished in 2008,[15] the pitch won the MyLocalPitch (now Playfinder) outstanding London sports venue award for August 2016.[16][17]

There are also multi-use sports pitches[8] for games like basketball,[18] which are free to use and do not require booking.[19] A free outdoor gym[20] was installed in 2013.[21] It is situated next to three outdoor table tennis tables.[22] The park hosts boot camp training.[23]

A mosaic memorial bench created by Arthur de Mowbray and Jay James was installed in 2011 to commemorate David Idowu, who was murdered in the park in 2008.[24] A peace event is held in the park most years to mark the anniversary of Idowu's death.[25][26][27]

The surrounding Tabard Gardens Estate, but not the park itself, has some of the last remaining stretcher fences in London – these are fences re-purposed from metal stretchers used by Air Raid Precautions wardens to carry Blitz casualties during World War II.[28] The Tabard Gardens Community Allotments[29] are on the surrounding estate, rather than within the park itself.[30]

History

References

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