London's Parks in 1900

Arthur H. Beavan, in Imperial London, first published 1901, made a brief survey of London's Parks at the time:

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Finsbury Park, opened in 1869, which includes all the space, formerly fields, between Newington Green and Hornsey, consists of 115 acres, intersected by the New River, prettily laid out and planted with much care.

It is a great boon to the people in the district, and on public holidays is crowded to its utmost capacity.

It has walks and gardens, and bathing-lakes immensely patronized.

Tens of thousands of the poor working-folk of the East End frequent this park, and the cricket pitches are so close together that balls fly through the air in every direction in a truly alarming manner.

The site, 65 acres, was bought at the rate of £1000 an acre, but only 45 acres have been made use of for the park.

As Kennington Common, it had in the past an unenviable reputation of being the common place of execution for Surrey; and later on it was used for political meetings, the most noted being one held there by the Chartists in 1848.

At Herne Hill is Brockwell Park, of about 100 acres, opened by Lord Rosebery, and devoted almost exclusively to cricket and other games; while down the river is the ever-popular Greenwich Park.

Follow the links to see Arthur H. Beavan's unique 1900 perspective on the following Parks and botanic gardens:

St Jame's Park formerly stood somewhat in the same relation to the Palace at Whitehall, as the chase at Windsor to the great Castle, and but for the Revolution of 1688, the removal of the Court elsewhere, and the rapid growth of London, it might long have continued to be a Royal preserve.

Hyde Park When the late Horace Greeley saw Hyde Park on a fine afternoon for the first time in his life, he described it as the most fascinating spectacle that his eye had ever rested upon.

Kensington Gardens Separated from Hyde Park by a ha-ha, or sunken wall, are Kensington Gardens, formerly the private grounds belonging to Kensington Palace; a beautiful place with vistas of trees; with a noble double avenue called the Broad Walk, and several other avenues.

Battersea Park With a river frontage between Chelsea and Albert Bridges is Battersea Park, completed about 1857; a very popular open space for the multitude of people living near it, and much visited from afar on account of the beauty of its flowers.

Regent's Park Regent's Park is the creation of George IV, who, in 1812, during his Regency, signified his approval of John Nash's plan to lay out the pleasance upon the site of old Marylebone Park, and to connect it with Carlton House.

The Botanic Gardens The Botanic Gardens, about 18 acres, occupy the entire inner circle of Regent's Park. Formerly a nursery ground, no spot could have been better selected for its present purpose.

Kew Gardens For scientific usefulness, Kew Gardens are universally recognized as the centre of the botanical world, an exchange where the rarest plants are received from remotest regions and distributed to other collections at home and abroad.

The Palm House The crowning glory of Kew is its Palm House. In an official account of the palms in Kew Gardens, it is stated that the majority are natives of the tropics, and therefore require a high temperature for their cultivation. So much for the parks, the lungs of modern Babylon, so extensive and so distributed, that, looking at a coloured map, it is surprising to notice amidst the wilderness of streets, how large an area these green-tinted spots cover, in which feature, the Metropolis bears a close resemblance to ancient Babylon that held within its walls, fields, plantations, and many gardens.