London Fields
Directions
Cross Mare Street and pass through The Triangle into Westgate Street. Go straight ahead at the mini roundabout and continue as far as London Fields on the right. Ignore the first path across the Fields and continue along Westgate Street and under the railway, as far as the cycle crossing at the end of Broadway Market. You may wish to pull off the road on the left-hand side in order to use the crossing. Enter London Fields and continue up the cycle path until the point where it crosses another cycle track just after the playground on the right and before the stone-built house. (You have been here before.) Turn left onto the cycle path leading away from the railway towards the west side of the Fields.
Description
London Fields are on former Lammas land once owned by Hackney Manor, which was still in strip divisions at the end of the 18th century. It was reputedly a burial place of plague victims in 1665. Cricket was played here as early as c.1820. The park retains its regular 19th century system of paths, numerous notable 18th and 19th century planes, and is bounded on several sides by fragmentary ranges of 18th and 19th century dwellings. The play area in the south-east corner has a sculptural seating area, described by Pevsner as ‘an endearing pebbly sculpture of flower sellers and sheep’.
