Inventory Site Record

King Henry’s Walk Garden is a volunteer-run community garden that opened in 2007, established on a plot of derelict land. Its name derives from King Henry VIII, who reportedly owned two houses and a hunting lodge nearby at Newington Green. In 1857 Thomas Docwra built premises here for his business, Docwra & Son, a successful well-borer contractor for waterworks companies; the name Docwras Buildings is still found on maps. In 1952 the land was acquired by Islington Council but left derelict as a rubble-strewn bomb site, as a result of which it became a rare piece of self-seeded woodland in Islington, now known as Docwras Buildings Wood. KHWG provides allotment plots for Islington residents to grow vegetables and flowers.

Previous / Other name:

Docwras Buildings Wood / Docwra Wood

Site location:

11c King Henry's Walk

Postcode:

N1 4NX

What 3 Words:

cared.cards.circle

Type of site:

Community Garden, Other

Borough:

Islington

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

12pm-4pm Saturdays all year, plus Sundays from May to September. Open to members every day during daylight hours
Has taken part in Open Garden Squares Weekend 15 times, most recently in 2025.

Special conditions:

No dogs other than registered assistance dogs. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult

Facilities:

Disabled toilet

Events:

Has opened for LOG

Public transport:

London Overground (Dalston Kingsland, Canonbury, Dalston Junction)

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

12/03/2025

Last minor changes:

27/05/2025

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. https://khwgarden.org.uk/

King Henry’s Walk Garden is a volunteer-run community garden created on a former derelict bomb-site. In 2004 Islington Council began consultations with local people with the hope of transforming the derelict space into a community or wildlife garden. The aim was to enable residents, who did not otherwise have gardens of their own, to be involved in gardening and to enjoy a communal green space. This was deemed to be particularly critical in Islington which is one of the most densely-populated boroughs but has the lowest amount of green space among all UK boroughs. Local residents set up the Friends of King Henry's Walk Garden in May 2005 in order to take the project forward and to manage the new garden, which opened in late 2007. The Friends Group is now a registered charity.

King Henry’s Walk Garden (KHWG) has 67 allotment plots for Islington residents to grow vegetables and flowers, a wildlife pond shaped as a teardrop where children can pond-dip, a communal building with a kitchenette and clay oven, a composting plot, and a greenhouse. The layout has been created with accessibility in mind, and a number of the planters are designed to enable wheelchair users to participate. The garden's entrance gate was commissioned from artist Heather Burrell. The importance of the garden to the local community is frequently recognised, and KHWG has won consecutive Islington in Bloom and London in Bloom Best Community Garden Awards, as well as RHS It’s Your Neighbourhood Certificates of Distinction. In 2019, Catherine, Princess of Wales visited KHWG and participated in a winter planting workshop as part of RHS engagements. KHWG frequently hosts events such as children’s craft activities and plant sales, with refreshments freshly made in the communal building. 

King Henry’s Walk derives its name from King Henry VIII, who reputedly owned two houses and a hunting lodge at Newington Green nearby. According to a source in the Islington Collection in the London Metropolitan Archives (SC/SS/07/015): 'Henry the 8th frequently visited Islington … the name of the pathway leading from the corner of Newington Green to the turnpike road at Balls Pond has long been known as King Harry’s Walk'. In the 1828 Christopher and John Greenwood map, this area was primarily fields with a garden extending from what is today Mildmay Park to the southwest corner of KHWG. According to the Charles Booth Poverty Map (1886 - 1903), this area was a timber yard, with surrounding streets colour-coded as being fairly comfortable and middle class. The First Edition OS map surveyed in 1870 (London XVIII) shows an angled street marked as Docwra's Buildings, part of which still exists today and part of which has been replaced by KHWG. In fact by 1913, the OS 25 ins map shows only part of this roadway remaining. Docwra's Buildings date from 1857/58, built by Thomas Docwra, a renowned well-borer contractor who set up his business Thomas Docwra & Son here. The company undertook work for multiple public waterworks companies, and were involved in the construction of Canada Dock (today Canada Water) in East London. The business appears to have remained here until 1922; the industrial buildings were not shown to be damaged in the bomb damage map (1945), and are still marked on the 1940-1960 OS maps, which show a furniture factory and Chorley Memorial Hall in the area that KHWG currently stands on, with some areas of ruins indicated. The land was acquired by Islington Council in March 1952, and it was laid out as a park and rose garden but this had to be closed to the public due to severe vandalism. Between 2001-05 the site became temporary accommodation for St Jude's and St Paul's School during rebuilding of the school.

Docwras Building Wood, or Docwra's Wood, is important for nature conservation and now forms part of the KHWG site. It was described in a Middlemarch Environmental Assessment as 'a small copse established on a former bomb site, composed of sycamore, ash Fraxinus excelsior, hazel Corylus avellana and a ground covering of ivy Hedera helix, and supporting a number of common birds'. After years of being inaccessible to the public, the area had become self-seeded woodland. In 2009 the rubble left behind in the wood was cleared out by KHWG volunteers, with funding from the Forestry Commission. Paths were created; dangerous or diseased trees were removed and new trees planted in order to improve biodiversity; hives for honeybees have been installed to facilitate pollination and establish a wide diversity of wildflowers in the woodland. Docwra's Wood is now a rare area of woodland within Islington.

Sources consulted:

Research undertaken by Mark Krukov, Zhixin Zheng
Friends of King Henry's Garden Walk website: https://khwgarden.org.uk/about-the-garden/history/
https://www.gardenvisit.com/gardens/king_henrys_walk_garden; https://friendsofim.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/streets-with-a-story-foim-july-2021.pdf; https://planning.islington.gov.uk/aniteim.websearch/(S(pgz20mynbuvm5a55z50upsn1))/Download.aspx?ID=348330
https://www.islington.gov.uk/~/media/sharepoint-lists/public-records/leisureandculture/information/factsheets/20192020/20191116mildmaylocalhistorytrail#:~:text=walk%2C%20turn%20right%20down%20King,of%20two%2019th%20century%20almshouses.

Grid ref:

TQ331849 (533112,184942)

Size in hectares:

0.5

Site ownership:

LB Islington

Site management:

Friends of King Henry's Walk Garden

Date(s):

2005-09

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:

Yes - Borough Importance II (Docwras Building Wood

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

Other LA designation:

None

King Henry's Walk Garden, June 2017. Photograph Sally Williams

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