Inventory Site Record

South End Green is a small open space in the middle of busy roads, with grass, a few trees and seating. A settlement called Pond Street is mentioned in 1607, and by the early C18th the hamlet had c.24 houses. Until 1835 there was a pond where South End Green is now, which was then filled in and a public green laid out. The ornamental octagonal granite drinking fountain in the centre was donated in 1880 by Miss Crump of Hereford House, Hampstead. The purpose-built shelter nearby was built c1893 for tramwaymen of the London Tramway Company, which had extended trams to South End Green by 1886.The largely intact underground Public Lavatories were built by the London and North-Western Railway in 1897.

Previous / Other name:

Pond Street

Site location:

Pond Street/Fleet Road/Constantine Road/South End Road

Postcode:

NW3 2DG

What 3 Words:

loads.trucks.ties

Type of site:

Public Open Land

Borough:

Camden

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

unrestricted

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Public transport:

London Overground: Hampstead Heath.

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Google Map    
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Research updated:

01/05/2010

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.camden.gov.uk

South End Green is a small open space in the middle of busy roads, with grass, a few trees and seating. A settlement at Pond Street is mentioned in 1607, and by the early C18th the hamlet had c.24 houses. It was part of the parish of Hampstead, which included other settlements at West End and Kilburn. Until 1835 there was a pond where South End Green is now, which was then filled in and the public green laid out. In the centre of South End Green is an ornamental octagonal granite drinking fountain donated in 1880 by Miss Crump of Hereford House, Hampstead in memory of William Warburton Pearce and of her uncle J B Chamberlain, with an inscription in the base commemorating her donation. It was designed by J H Evins and built by J Holland of Northwich, Cheshire, and is in Early English Gothic Revival style, taking the form of a baptismal font.

Opposite the Green is a purpose-built tramwaymen's shelter built c.1893 for tramwaymen of the London Tramway Company who had extended trams to South End Green by 1886. In 1897 underground Public Lavatories were built at South End Green by the London and North-Western Railway, and remain today largely intact with their interior walls tiled in green and white and the floor chequered black and white; the three entrances have cast-iron railings on low tile walls, and cast-iron gates with overthrows.

South End Green was renovated in 2006, with new paving and lighting installed around the base of the drinking fountain. Quotations have been inscribed into the surrounding paving slabs, including by D H Lawrence, Herbert Henry Asquith, John Keats, Robert Louis Stevenson and George Orwell, together with text in recognition of the renovation: 'The restoration of this Green is dedicated to the community of South End Green by Josh and Kirstie Wallis, Sean and Lucy Reardon (2006)'.

Sources consulted:

LB Camden Listed Buildings website; John Richardson, 'A History of Camden. Hampstead, Holborn and St Pancras' (Historical Publications Ltd, 1999)

Grid ref:

TQ274855 (527299,185529)

Size in hectares:

0.08

Site ownership:

LB Camden

Site management:

Parks & Open Spaces

Date(s):

1835

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

LBII: Drinking Fountain; Tramwaymen's Shelter; Public Lavatories; 2 Telephone kiosks

On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

No

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

Yes: Green (TVG27)

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

Yes

Local Authority Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

Yes

Conservation Area name:

Hampstead Village

Tree Preservation Order:

No

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

Yes - Area of Special Character: Hampstead & Highgate Ridge

Other LA designation:

Public Open Space (Small Local). London Squares Preservation Act 1931.

South End Green, August 2002. Photo: S Williams

Click a photo to enlarge.