London's Pocket Parks: Meath Gardens, E2

"Finally, the MPGA raised enough money to buy the cemetery, but to force a sale, they gifted the money to the London County Council, which could enforce a compulsory purchase order in 1891. It took the MPGA's landscape gardener, Fanny Wilkinson, assisted by 30 unemployed men a year to convert the burial ground into a public park, and it finally opened on Friday 20th July 1894."

"Although the Rev Butler had fought to stop the sale of his land to be used as a park, he was given a vote of thanks during the opening ceremony. In total, the cost of buying the land and turning it into a park came to around £3,000. When it opened, the park was named Meath Gardens after Lord Brabazon, the Earl of Meath, who established the MPGA and raised the funds to purchase the land."

The east London site was intended as a railway goods depot but was sold by Charles Butler to become a private burial ground. The cemetery opened in 1842 but was never consecrated and relied on regular burials for income. Financial failure closed the business in 1853 and its successor in 1876, leaving the grounds derelict. The Metropolitan Public Gardens Association pursued purchase from Rev John Banks Meek Butler, who resisted, so MPGA gifted funds to the London County Council to secure a compulsory purchase order in 1891. Fanny Wilkinson led conversion with 30 unemployed men; the park opened on 20th July 1894, costing £3,000 and named Meath Gardens. The park remains somewhat hidden behind the railway, factories and housing.

Read at ianVisits