Inventory Site Record

Trinity Square was laid out in 1850 at the rear of Trinity Asylum, women's almshouses built in 1822. The original C19th houses survive on three sides of the square, and by the early C20th an enclosure in the centre of the square was let to the licensee of the Trinity Arms as an allotment garden. In 1931 Mr Stenton Covington began to raise funds for its purchase on the condition that the local authority would maintain it as a public open space. As a result it was conveyed to Lambeth Borough Council following agreement to lay it out as a public garden dedicated to children's recreation. In the early C21st the garden was re-landscaped with new seating, planting, and gates.

Previous / Other name:

Trinity Square

Site location:

Trinity Gardens

Postcode:

SW9 8DW

What 3 Words:

finishing.letter.those

Type of site:

Public Gardens

Borough:

Lambeth

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

unrestricted

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Public transport:

Rail/Tube: Brixton (Victoria)

Citymapper    
Google Map    
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Research updated:

13/11/2023

Last minor changes:

13/11/2023

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

Trinity Square was laid out in 1850 at the rear of Trinity Asylum, now Trinity Homes, built as almshouses by Thomas Bailey in 1822 for 'pious aged women'. Bailey, who lived in Brixton, was a china and glass manufacturer in the City of London. In accordance with his wishes Trinity still provides separate homes for elderly women. Behind the main building are homes on two sides of a small green square. The 1st edition OS Map of 1869/70 shows Trinity Square as a rectangular garden with a perimeter path enclosing planting and two trees on a central area; this layout recurs on later maps. Trinity Square and the approach road from Acre Lane was renamed Trinity Gardens in 1937. The houses on the south side were built by John and Charles Ellis but demolished after WWII when Daisy Dormer Housing Estate was built, but the original houses on the other three sides survive. In 1927 there is a reference to an enclosure in the centre of the square then owned by Messrs. Young and Company's brewery and let to the licensee of the Trinity Arms as an allotment garden. The lessee was covenanted 'to keep it in a proper state of cultivation, and to repair, paint and preserve the stone curb and iron railings &c., and not to use the ground for a quoit or skittle ground, nor to allow anything to be done thereon which may be or become a nuisance or annoyance to the Company or the neighbourhood'.

In 1931 Mr Stenton Covington began to raise funds for its purchase on the condition that the local authority would maintain it as a public open space. Lambeth Borough Council at first agreed to contribute to the cost and to lay it out as an enclosed shrubbery but after representation for Mr Covington and the LCC it was agreed to make it an open public garden dedicated to children's recreation. The layout included grass play areas and seats for adults. It was conveyed to Lambeth Borough Council in 1931 for £750. Its railings were removed and sent for salvage in WWII and it was later largely asphalt with hedging at one end, once again railed. In the early C21st the garden was re-landscaped with new gates, seating and planting.

Sources consulted:

Marie Draper 'Lambeth's Open Spaces, An historical account', LB Lambeth 1979; Report of the Royal Commission on London Squares, 1928

Grid ref:

TQ307752 (530774,175311)

Size in hectares:

0.05

Site ownership:

LB Lambeth

Site management:

Environment Directorate, Parks and Greenspaces Unit (Team Lambeth)

Date(s):

1931

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:

Yes

Conservation Area name:

Trinity Gardens

Tree Preservation Order:

No

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

Protected London Square. Open Space

Trinity Gardens, September 2009; Photograph Sally Williams

Click a photo to enlarge.