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Home > Leisure and culture > Parks and open spaces > Parks > Victoria Park

victoria park partners

Victoria park

The Victoria Park project user survey

Please assist us in monitoring your views about Victoria Park. This information will help us to ensure that we respond to people's needs. We would be grateful if you would take a few minutes to fill in the Victoria Park project user survey.

Become a volunteer in Victoria Park

We are looking for people who would be interested in volunteering in Victoria Park. You can do as little or as much as you want with volunteering opportunities available such as joining Friends of Victoria Park, maintenance work, planting, weeding, working with wildlife through to involvement in restoration project, conducting guided tours and stewarding at events. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer fill out the Victoria Park volunteering form.

£12 million plan for Vicky Park

Victoria Park is one of London’s most important historic parks and is in line for a multi-million pound refurbishment. The park has provided a fantastic open space for generations of eastenders to enjoy - and this investment is set to be the biggest since its creation in the 1840s.
 
Tower Hamlets Council has talked to thousands of local people to guide the project and develop plans of what they would like the park to look like in the future. Detailed plans have been submitted to the Parks for People scheme, a £90 million joint project between the Big Lottery Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund. The funding bid, coupled with an investment from the council, would total £12 million.

Victoria Park

Victoria Park planting beds

Victoria Park is located within the Bow East and Bow West Wards of Tower Hamlets. The whole of the park lies within Tower Hamlets, but the park is bordered on its northern boundary by the London Borough of Hackney. It serves a large residential population in both boroughs and is the largest park within Tower Hamlets.

The park is the most popular outdoor visitor destination for borough residents and it also attracts many tourists and visitors from outside of the borough. It has many fine features including superb trees, avenues, lakes and floral displays. A wide range of formal and informal sports, sponsored activities, events and festivals take place throughout the year.

Victoria Park is a key link in a green corridor that stretches from the River Thames at Limehouse, along the Regents Canal and through Mile End Park. Beyond Victoria Park to the north and east is the Lee Valley Park, along with the newly emerging Olympic Park.

Victoria Park was created in the 19th century. Parliament passed an Act for the development of the park in 1841 following an outcry about the lack of parks in the East End, and fears that disease would spread from the stinking industries and slum population of 400,000. The Government bought poor quality land that had been used for market gardens, grazing and gravel digging. The land was flat, with poor soil and little water but was cheaper than an alternative and larger site nearer the Thames.

Victoria Park lakeThe park was designed by James Pennethorne. It was an instant success, with local people using the park as early as 1843, before works were completed. The site was extended 1872 when land originally set aside for residential development was incorporated into the park.

The park has passed through a number of managing organisations:- from the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1887, transferring to the London County Council in 1889, then the Greater London Council in 1965, then to Tower Hamlets in 1986 (initially with the borough of Hackney through a joint management board), becoming the sole responsibility of Tower Hamlets in 1994.

Many of the original features of the park have been lost or have deteriorated. Many parts of the site were bombed during WW2 and have not been restored. In heritage terms the park is still of national importance as signified by its inclusion as a Grade 2 park on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.

The Council has a vision that Victoria Park should be restored and improved to be a highly-acclaimed, iconic landmark urban park; revealing its rich heritage and presenting an innovative and exciting recreation and leisure experience for the local and wider community.

Victoria ParkTake part in our parks improvement survey and have your say:

  • To complete the questionnaire online go to http://www.greenstat.org.uk/

Tree Walks in Victoria Park

  • Tree Walk 1- East Walk (pdf, 336 kb)
  • Tree Walk 2 - West Walk (pdf, 261 kb)
  • Tree Walk 3 - Avenue Perimeter Walk (pdf, 419 kb)

For more information please contact the Parks & Open Spaces Service on 020 7364 2494 or email parks@towerhamlets.gov.uk

Victoria Park is 86.18 hectares in area size and falls under LAP area 5.

Grove Road
Bow
London E3

DisabledGo link logo 

Nearest underground station: Mile End
Nearest rail stations: Cambridge Heath/Hackney Wick Station

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