Swaby Gardens (Wandsworth)
Brief Description
The land here was owned by Magdalen College Oxford. In the early C20th Magdalen Park Estate was planned as a garden suburb here, designed by E P Warren. By WWI houses between Garratt Lane and Swaby Road, and part between Lyford Road and Ellerton Road had been built but the scheme was essentially truncated when Wandsworth Borough Council purchased land for the Openview Estate in the 1920s and for the Fieldview Estate in the 1930s. Swaby Road Recreation Ground was provided as a small rectangular public open space on the Openview Estate.
Practical Information
- Previous / Other name:
- Swaby Road Open Space; Swaby Road Recreation Ground
- Site location:
- Swaby Road/Leckford Road/Lidiard Road
- Postcode:
- SW18
- What 3 Words:
- zest.tasty.stream
- Type of site:
- Public Gardens
- Borough:
- Wandsworth
- Open to public?
- Yes
- Opening times:
- 8am - dusk
- Special conditions:
- Facilities:
- playground
- Events:
- Public transport:
- Rail: Earlsfield
- Research updated:
- 01/04/2003
- Last minor changes:
- 14/07/2022
Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.wandsworth.gov.uk/homepage/41/parks_and_open_spaces
Full Site Description
In the 1920s Wandsworth Borough Council purchased the area between Swaby Road and Open View for the Openview Estate and in the 1930s the area between Fieldview and Ellerton Road for the Fieldview Estate. The Openview Estate was laid out with symmetrical groups of houses with Swaby Road Recreation Ground provided as a small rectangular public open space. Two streets, Lidiard and Leckford Roads, are at 45 degrees from the recreation ground providing longer roads than an orthodox street grid would. During the 1960s, both Swaby Gardens and Godley Gardens (q.v.) on the Fieldview Estate were locked due to vandalism, but later re-opened as public open space, with a playground installed here.
Sources consulted:
LB Wandsworth, Magdalen Park Estate Conservation Area Character Statement; LB Wandsworth, Swaby Gardens Draft Park Management Plan 2009-2014 (2009)
Further Information (Planning and Conservation)
- Grid ref:
- TQ263728 (526355,172910)
- Size in hectares:
- 0.145
- Site ownership:
- LB Wandsworth
- Site management:
- Parks Service
- Date(s):
- 1922
- 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:
- Yes
- Conservation Area name:
- Magdalen Park Estate
- Tree Preservation Order:
- No
- Nature Conservation Area:
- No
- Green Belt:
- No
- Metropolitan Open Land:
- No
- Special Policy Area:
- No
- Other LA designation:
- Incidental Public Open Space/Landscaped Open Space
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.