Perhaps you’ve heard the saying. “To the people gardens, and to the children playgrounds”. This motto encapsulates the spirit of Myatt’s Fields Park.
Welcome to Myatt’s Fields Park. This Victorian park spans 14 acres. It is located in Camberwell, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The park is a testament to Victorian urban planning and community spirit.
Let’s step back in time. The majority of Myatt’s Fields belonged to Sir Hughes Minet’s estate. In 1770, he acquired 118 acres of land. Minet was a descendant of Isaac Minet. Isaac was a French Huguenot refugee. He fled France after the 1685 Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Street names like Calais Street and Cormont Road reflect the Minet family’s French roots.
In 1889, William Minet, Hughes Minet’s descendant, donated 14 and a half acres. The land went to the London County Council. It was to be used for a public park. Initially, it was to be called Camberwell Park. However, the name Myatt’s Fields was settled on in 1889. In 1900, the park was transferred from Camberwell to Lambeth. The Metropolitan Public Gardens Association invested around £10,000 in the park’s layout. Myatt’s Fields Park officially opened on May 28, 1889. Susan Minet later added a quarter of an acre near Knatchbull Road and Calais Street in 1935.
Fanny Wilkinson designed Myatt’s Fields. She was Britain’s first professional woman landscape gardener. Emmeline Sieveking assisted Wilkinson. She was the daughter of Queen Victoria’s physician, Sir Edward Sieveking. The park is named after Joseph Myatt. He was a tenant market gardener. Myatt grew strawberries and rhubarb. He was famed for these crops in the 19th century. The park’s mulberry tree may date back to its time as a market garden.
Myatt’s Fields Park includes a bandstand and a summerhouse. You can also find a café here. It offers tennis courts and a football pitch. There is also a basketball court and a children’s playground. A community greenhouse is here as well.
During World War I, Myatt’s Fields housed a military hospital. Huts were constructed for this purpose. During World War II, trenches were dug for air raid shelters.
The park retains many original features. This includes the layout of paths and some flowerbeds. The bandstand and roundhouse remain too. Myatt’s Fields is an unusual example of a small-scale Victorian urban park.
In 2015, Myatt’s Fields was voted the 9th best park in the UK. This was in a public vote organized by the Green Flag Award.
Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine grew up near Myatt’s Fields. She said her earliest memory was climbing trees in the park. Former Poet Laureate John Betjeman called it a “strangely beautiful place”.
Myatt’s Fields Park stands as a testament to the vision. It is a vision of providing green space and recreation for the community. It represents Victorian values of philanthropy and urban improvement.