Gates, Kiosk, Pergola and Toilet Blocks, Haggerston Park, Whiston Road, E2

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Formerly this area was occupied by the Gas Light & Coke Company which was formed in the 1820s. They had a gasworks on the site which in 1945 was hit by a V2 bomb. In the early 1950s it was decided that the site should be made into a municipal park. It was commissioned by the London County Council. The park opened c.1958 and the layout is thought to have been modeled on a cruise liner and is very much in spirit of the Festival of Britain. A sheltered entrance in Edith Street has double gates with toilet block either side. The Whiston Road entrance gate has an adjacent shelter with seating and brick piers supporting a balcony above. This is accessed by spiral staircase. There is also a third entrance via the North Gate in Dove Row. The 'walled garden' area of the park is mainly laid out as a lawn with two paths running north to south. The main features include a kiosk with attached pergola supported by brick piers, a large sundial sculpture with stepping stones and a sunken linear lawn which is the remains of a canal basin that once linked to the Regent's Canal. Further expansion in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s led to the purchase of land south of the walled garden. The park was awarded a Green Flag award in 2011.

Modernism

Post-war (1945-2000)

park buildings

This purpose-built municipal park has many charming features, including XXXXX. which rare characteristic of the 1950s and Festival of Britain style.