I20 LONDON PARKS & GARDENS 



last century that the movement in favour of city parks 

 assumed definite form. They were in contemplation 

 before 1 840, but none were completed until several years 

 later. Victoria was the first, opened in 1845 ; Battersea, 

 although begun then, was not ready for planting till 

 1857 ; Kennington, Finsbury, and Southwark had fol- 

 lowed before 1870, and, since then, every few years new 

 open spaces have been added. They have been purchased 

 by public bodies for the most part, but a large share of 

 the honour of acquiring these grounds is due to private 

 munificence and individual enterprise. 



Irrespective of the commons which link them together, 

 the principal parks are the following. Beginning on the 

 extreme north there is Golder's Hill, then to the east of 

 Hampstead lies Waterlow, the next going eastwards is 

 Finsbury, then Clissold and Springfield, and down 

 towards the east Victoria. In South London, between 

 Woolwich and Greenwich, lies Maryon Park ; then, west 

 of Greenwich, Deptford and Southwark ; then a densely 

 built-over district before Kennington, Vauxhall, and 

 Battersea are reached ; while away to the south lie 

 Camberwell, Ruskin, Brockwell, and Dulwich ; right 

 away into the country, on the south-east, Avery Hill and 

 Eltham ; and back again west, across the river again, in 

 Hammersmith, is Ravenscourt. These parks of varying 

 sizes, and smaller recreation grounds between, make up 

 the actual parks, although some of the commons, with 

 playgrounds, artificial water, and band-stands, can hardly 

 be distinguished from the true park. 



The oldest of the parks now under the London County 

 Council — Battersea, Kennington, and Victoria — were for 

 many years under the Office of Works, and on the same 

 footing as the Royal Parks. Government, and no muni- 



