Inventory Site Record

David Copperfield Gardens were created on the site of the former private garden of County Terrace and is overlooked by the footbridge over New Kent Road to the south. In 1928 the neglected, irregularly shaped garden, at the time owned by the Trustees of Messrs. H C & M D Smith, was in the process of being sold to Southwark Borough Council for public open space. The houses of County Terrace were replaced by a local authority housing estate although the garden remained and was laid out with lawn, various ornamental trees, flower beds and shrubs and a statue erected by the Dickens Fellowship referring to a passage in Charles Dickens' 'David Copperfield'. The garden has been completely re-landscaped.

Previous / Other name:

County Terrace

Site location:

New Kent Road/Harper Road

Postcode:

SE1

What 3 Words:

woof.cubs.minute

Type of site:

Public Gardens

Borough:

Southwark

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

unrestricted

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Public transport:

Tube: Elephant & Castle (Northern, Bakerloo) then bus. Bus: 1, 53, 63, 172, 188.

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/04/2008

Last minor changes:

14/07/2022

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.southwark.gov.uk/parks

In September 1931 the Dickens Fellowship erected a fountain in the new public garden with a small statue of a cherub amidst a floral display. A plaque had a quote from 'David Copperfield' when Copperfield is on his flight to Dover: 'I came to a stop at the Kent Road at a terrace with a piece of water before it and a great foolish image in the middle blowing a dry shell'.

Sources consulted:

Joyce Bellamy notes. Report of the Royal Commission on London Squares, 1928.

Grid ref:

TQ325790 (532400,179009)

Size in hectares:

0.222

Site ownership:

LB Southwark

Site management:

Parks

Date(s):

C19th; c.1930

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:

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:

No

Tree Preservation Order:

Not known

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

Yes

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

Gardens, Tier Three; London Squares Preservation Act. Strategic Views Backdrop Consultation Zone