"The park is situated on a road in the city called Houndsditch and was once part of the old Roman Wall that surrounded the city. The name is alleged to have originated from various sources, either the dumping of waste into the ditch that ran along the outside of the wall, resulting in numerous dogs scavenging for food, or perhaps that kennels for the City hunt used to be located here."
"The new park features a contemporary design, consisting of a series of curved, raised beds for plants, and scattered new benches dotted around the sides. Some pieces of the old stone wall have been reused as decorations within the park, and in their new guise looking more like ancient stones from a demolished church than the 1970s stone wall that they actually came from. The park now features 15 small trees, as well as some log piles in the corners, to provide habitat for wildlife."
The Houndsditch pocket park occupies land that was once part of the old Roman Wall, with a name linked to a ditch that attracted scavenging dogs or to historic kennels. The area was filled, developed and lined with shops until WWII clearance, then used as a car park before becoming a public garden in 1977 for the Silver Jubilee. Plans to merge with Devonshire Square did not proceed; the site lost space to an electricity substation and Barbon Alley. A recent refurbishment introduced curved raised beds, scattered benches, reused stone fragments, 15 small trees and log piles to support wildlife, and the garden reopened in July 2025.
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