Inventory Site Record

The land was part of the Milkwood Estate owned by the Archbishops of Canterbury, the area originally a wood reserved for use by Archbishops which was cleared by the end of C17th and the ground leased, together with an associated area known as Wickwood. It was open land until the1860s when it was developed largely by leases issued to Daniel Grant who laid out Barrington Road and Millbrook Road. By the 1950s rebuilding was needed and the LCC purchased part of this area from the Church Commissioners in 1953, part to be a new public open space. Around 1.62 hectares was laid to grass as an extension of the Loughborough Housing Estate in 1958. Part of Ridgway Road was bought in 1957 and the gardens were extended in 1961.

Site location:

Loughborough Road/Millbrook Road

Postcode:

SW9 7JD

What 3 Words:

fork.skin.prompting

Type of site:

Public Gardens

Borough:

Lambeth

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

unrestricted

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Children's play area (dog free); multi-use games area; The Platform Cafe

Events:

Public transport:

Rail: Loughborough Junction

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

05/02/2024

Last minor changes:

05/02/2024

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/parks/wyck-gardens

Wyck Gardens is thought to gets its name from the old Manor of Lambeth Wick, which was owned by the Archbishops of Canterbury. The land was part of the Milkwood Estate, the area originally a wood reserved for use by Archbishops, which was cleared by the end of the C17th and the ground leased, together with an associated area of woodland known as Wickwood. It remained open land until the1860s when it was developed largely by leases issued to Daniel Grant, who laid out Barrington Road and Millbrook Road. The OS Map surveyed in 1869 (London-Surrey XI.44 5 Feet to One Mile) shows the area fully developed as housing. By the 1950s the housing needed to be rebuilt and in 1953 the LCC purchased part of this area from the Church Commissioners, part of which was to provide a new public open space. Around 1.62 hectares was subsequently laid to grass as an extension of the Loughborough Housing Estate in 1958, and Wyck Gardens opened in 1959. The Gardens were extended to their present size in 1961, following purchase of part of Ridgway Road in 1957.

Further improvements have taken place in recent years in order to make the gardens more accessible to a wider diversity of users, which has included re-landscaping of the eastern entrance on Loughborough Road created in 2017/18. This work has been undertaken through the auspices of  Transport for London and Lambeth Council in partnership with the Loughborough Junction Action Group (LJAG), Wyck Gardens now contains a children’s playground, and a multi-use games area used for 5-a-side football and other ball games, including ‘urban' cricket. A community orchard has been planted on the west side, which is managed by local residents for food growing and biodiversity, and other areas are maintained as meadow grassland. Adjacent to the Loughborough Road entrance is The Platform Cafe, the community cafe for Loughborough Farm, which was set up in August 2013 across Loughborough Road from Wyck Gardens, its vision 'to create a patchwork of community growing spaces on pieces of derelict or underused land'.

Since 2011 Wyck Gardens has been home to the Ebony Horse Club, whose stabling and riding centre was built on the east of the site, and who graze their horses on other parts of the site. Ebony Horse Club is a charity, with HRH Queen Camilla its President since 2009. The Club uses horses and horse riding to help raise the education, life skills, wellbeing and aspirations of young people from disadvantaged communities in Lambeth. 

Wyck Gardens is one of Lambeth's Green Flag Award-winning parks, and a holder of a ‘Park of the Year’ award from London in Bloom.

Sources consulted:

Marie Draper 'Lambeth's Open Spaces, An historical account', LB Lambeth 1979; Wyck Gardens | Lambeth Council; Ebony Horse Club - Changing lives in the heart of Brixton; Loughborough Farm: A patchwork of community growing spaces | Loughborough Junction Action Group 

Grid ref:

TQ316757 (531679,175716)

Size in hectares:

1.88

Site ownership:

LB Lambeth

Site management:

Environment Directorate, Parks and Greenspaces Unit (Team Lambeth)

Date(s):

1958-61

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

None

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

No

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

No

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:

No

Tree Preservation Order:

No

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

Park Regeneration Area. Open Space