London's Pocket Parks, Latchmere Recreation Ground, SW11

"This unassuming little park in Battersea was once the scene of fierce legal battles - and even a riot - all sparked by a dog. It sits on what was once a much larger area of common land, which by the 1830s had been enclosed by housing around it and was being used as public allotments. However, the area's growing population meant that it couldn't last, and after about 30 years of debate, finally, in the early 1900s, the Latchmere Estate was constructed."

"The estate is the first example of a housing estate built with labour directly employed by a local council authority, but it wasn't originally intended to be so. Battersea Vestry's original plans were for private developers to build houses, but in 1885, the committee overseeing the plans was joined by social reformers, including Andrew Cameron and the builder Thomas Spearing. They argued for the vestry to build the houses at no profit, but laws at the time prevented them from doing so."

"Eventually, legal changes in 1899 and 1900 allowed the Vestry to develop part (and that it was just part is important) of the Latchmere allotments. The houses were unusually modern for working-class people of the time, with indoor toilets and even electric lighting. The Vestry also provided large 5-bedroom apartments, which were a rarity for the working class. It was also then that the outline of Latchemere Recreation Ground, situated on part of the allotments, was first created."

Latchmere Recreation Ground occupies part of former common land that by the 1830s had been enclosed and used as public allotments. Population growth and prolonged debate led to the construction of the Latchmere Estate in the early 1900s. Battersea Vestry became the first local council to employ labour directly to build housing after legal changes in 1899–1900 allowed development of part of the allotments. The new homes offered advanced amenities for working families, including indoor toilets, electric lighting and unusually large five‑bedroom flats. The recreation ground was created from allotment land, formally opened in 1906, and survives today as a pocket park.

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