Brockwell Park

Brockwell Park
A hut in Brockwell Park
Location	London
Coordinates	51°27′03″N 0°06′27″W / 51.45083°N 0.10750°W / 51.45083; -0.10750
Area	50.8 hectares (126 acres)
Open	All year

Brockwell Park is a 50.8 hectare (125.53 acres) park located between Brixton, Herne Hill and Tulse Hill, bordered by Brixton Water Lane, Norwood Road, Tulse Hill (Road), and Dulwich Road in South London.

The park commands views of the skyline of the city and Central London. At the top of the hill within the park stands Brockwell Hall.

The Brockwell Lido, a Grade II listed art deco building near the top of the park, is an open-air swimming pool popular with swimmers and bathers. Its attached café/restaurant is also popular. Other amenities in Brockwell Park include tennis courts, a bowling green, a BMX track and a miniature railway.

The park is home to the Lambeth Country Show, which usually takes place in July. An annual fireworks display also takes place around November 5. There are two festivals held in Brockwell Park in the summer. Found Festival and sunfall festival.

Brockwell Park is open from 7.30am to 15 minutes before sunset every day.

The Grade II* listed Brockwell Hall was built between 1811-1813 when the area was part of Surrey and was the country seat of glass merchant John Blades Esq. The land and house were acquired by the London County Council (LCC) in March 1891 and opened to the public on 2 June in the following summer, led by the local MP Thomas Lynn Bristowe. At the unveiling, Bristowe died of a heart attack on the steps of the hall.

In 1901 the LCC acquired a further 43 acres (17 ha) of land north of the original park. In the 1920s, there were 13 cricket pitches in the park, which attracted crowds of up to 1,500. Brockwell Park was home to the Galton Institute.

A bust of Thomas Bristowe was returned to the Park and unveiled on its 120th birthday, 2012.

The park is Grade II listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.