Origins

A mass petition to the Queen, in support of a recommendation by epidemiologist William Farr, led to the creation of the park.^[6] The UK Parliament passed the York House and Victoria Park Act 1841^[7] which enabled the Crown Estate to purchases 218 acres (88 ha) which were laid out by notable London planner and architect Sir James Pennethorne between 1842 and 1846. A part of the area was known as Bonner Fields, after Bishop Bonner, the last lord of the manor of Stepney. Bonner's Hall, also known as Bonner's Palace, served as a residence of the Bishops of London, and was pulled down in 1845 to make way for Victoria Park.^[8] The land had originally been parkland, associated with the Bishop's Palace, but by the mid-1800s had been spoiled by the extraction of gravel, and clay for bricks.

The park was opened to the public in 1845. It is reminiscent of Regent's Park, having been designed by Pennethorne's teacher John Nash, and is considered by some as the finest park in the East End. It is bounded on two sides by canals: the Regent's Canal lies to the west, while its branch, once known as the Hertford Union Canal, runs along the southern edge of the park. There is a gate named after Edmund Bonner, and guarding the main entrance at Sewardstone Road are replica statues of the Dogs of Alcibiades, the originals of which stood here from 1912 to 2009 until vandalism led to their being removed, restored and rehoused elsewhere in the park.

A drawing of the proposed layout published in 1841.

Two pedestrian alcoves are located at the east end of the park near the Hackney Wick war memorial where they were placed in 1860. They are surviving fragments of the old London Bridge, demolished in 1831, and were part of the 1760 refurbishment of the 600-year-old bridge, by Sir Robert Taylor and George Dance the Younger. They provided protection for pedestrians on the narrow carriageway. The insignia of Bridge House Estates can be seen inside these alcoves, which have been Grade II listed since 1951.^[9]

The Lido opened in 1936^[10] and reopened in 1952 following damage during the Second World War; it was closed in 1986 and demolished in 1990.^[11]

The People's Park

The bathing pond at Victoria Park (2005). Unused for bathing since the 1930s, it is now popular with anglers.

In the latter half of the 19th Century, Victoria Park became an essential amenity for the working classes of the East End. For some East End children in the 1880s, this may have been the only large stretch of uninterrupted greenery they ever encountered. Facilities like the Bathing Pond (picture right) —later superseded by the park lido—would have introduced many to swimming in an era when many public baths (like that at Shacklewell) were still simply communal washing facilities.

Victoria Park's reputation as the 'People's Park' grew^[12] as it became a centre for political meetings and rallies, perhaps exceeding in importance than the more well-known Hyde Park in this regard. The park occupies much of the space between Tower Hamlets — experiencing poverty in the 19th century and with a tradition of socialist and revolutionary agitation — and Hackney, more genteel, but heir to a legacy of religious dissent and non-conformism that led to its own brand of reformism. So there was a lot of activity at Speaker's Corners.

Although any one could set up their own soapbox, the biggest crowds were usually drawn to 'star' socialist speakers such as William Morris and Annie Besant.

Grade II* listed drinking fountain in Victoria Park (2016), erected by Baroness Angela Burdett-Coutts in 1862.^[13]

This description by J. H. Rosney, correspondent for Harper's Magazine (February 1888) evokes a scene:

On the big central lawn are scattered numerous groups, some of which are very closely packed. Almost all the religious sects of England and all the political and social parties are preaching their ideas and disputing [...] On this lawn the listener, as his fancy prompts him, may assist on Malthusianism, atheism, agnosticism, secularism, Calvinism, socialism, anarchism, Salvationism, Darwinism, and even, in exceptional cases, Swedenborgianism and Mormonism. I once heard there a prophet, a man who professed to be inspired by the Holy Ghost; but this prophet ended by being locked up in an asylum, where he will have to convert the doctor before he can recover his liberty.^[14]

The tradition of public speaking in the park continued until well after the Second World War, and was still later reflected in politically oriented rock concerts, such as those held by Rock Against Racism and the Anti-Nazi League in the 1970s and 1980s. And it is still not uncommon for marches or demonstrations to begin or end in Victoria Park.

On 26 June 2014, a campaign to revive the Speakers' Corner at Victoria Park was launched at a democratic theatre event held in Shoreditch Town Hall. Hosted by The People Speak,^[15] a participatory campaign and events group, 66 audience members deliberated over how to use the pooled cash revenue from their tickets,^[16] and eventually voted to recreate the well-known tradition of free speech and debate in Hyde Park in East London's Victoria Park. The campaign was to formally launch in July 2014.

Second World War

The Hackney Wick Great War memorial (2005)

During the Second World War, Victoria Park was largely closed to the public and effectively became one huge Ack-Ack (anti-aircraft) site. The gun emplacements conveniently straddled the path of German Luftwaffe bombers looping north west after attacking the docks and warehouses further south in what is now Tower Hamlets, and so the park was of some strategic importance.

Prisoner of war camps were erected along the north eastern edge parallel to Victoria Park Road and were used to house both Germans and Italians. An air raid shelter was built underground just inside St Marks Gate. On 15 October 1940 a bomb made a direct hit, trapping around a hundred inside and killing fifteen. Much of the park was taken to be used as part of the war effort, which much of the earth being used for allotments, military stations and barrage balloon sites, even the park railings were melted down to be re-used.

More controversially, anti-aircraft activity in the park has been implicated in the crowd panic that caused the Bethnal Green tube disaster of 1943. Some eyewitness accounts have led to the suggestion that, after several air raid alerts, the panic run for shelter was caused by a gigantic explosion of noise from the direction of the park. A BBC documentary on the event^[17] suggests that this was due to the first firing of the new Z-Battery anti-aircraft rockets. The UK Ministry of Defence, however, disputes this account.^[18]

The war destroyed many of the park's beautiful early features: three lodges including the Bonner Lodge were completely reduced to rubble, the palm house was shattered, St Augustine's Church collapsed in on itself and the pagoda, moorish shelter and lido were all damaged. With finances tight after the war ended, most were torn down rather than repaired.

Modern

This pedestrian alcove is a surviving fragment of the old London Bridge, demolished in 1831. Two have resided in Victoria Park since 1860 (2005)

In 1986 the Greater London Council transferred responsibility for the park to the London borough of Tower Hamlets and the London Borough of Hackney, through a joint management board. Since 1994 Tower Hamlets has run the park alone.^[19]

In recent times, Victoria Park became noted for its open-air music festivals, often linked with a political cause. In 1978, Rock Against Racism organised a protest event against growth of far-right organisations such as the National Front. The concert was played by The Clash, Steel Pulse, X-Ray Spex, The Ruts, Sham 69, Generation X, and the Tom Robinson Band.^[20] The 1980 rock docudrama Rude Boy features The Clash playing at an Anti-Nazi League event in the park. London International Festival of Theatre presented pyrotechnics company Group F in 2001 and again in 2004, led by acclaimed pyrotechnician Christophe Berthonneau. In 2006 through to 2010, Paradise Gardens, a free community festival, produced by Remarkable Productions working in partnership with Tower Hamlets Council's Arts and Events department, re-imagined Victorian pleasure gardens for the modern era, before moving in 2012 to London Pleasure Gardens in Newham. Radiohead played two concerts in the park on 24–25 June 2008. Madness celebrated their 30th year with a fifth Madstock festival there on 17 July 2009. The park has also become very popular amongst dance music's biggest names; Dutch DJ Tiësto played at Victoria Park in 2009 and again in 2010.^[21] On 24–25 July 2010, Victoria Park was the site of the first High Voltage Festival. Victoria Park has also hosted Field Day, The Apple Cart, Underage Festival, Lovebox Festival, and All Points East.

For children, Victoria Park is host to: a One O'Clock Club for under-fives and a programme of summer activities and a children's play park including a paddling pool that runs from 1-5pm in the summer months.

The oldest model boat club in the world,^[22] the Victoria Model Steam Boat Club, founded in the Park on 15 July 1904, is still active today and holds up to 17 of their Sunday regattas a year. The VMSB Club runs straight-running boats just as they did 100 years ago but have also progressed to radio controlled boats and hydroplanes. The first Regatta is traditionally held on Easter Sunday and the Steam Regatta is always held on the first Sunday in July.

The Park is also the home of Tower Hamlets Football Club and Victoria Park United Football club, Tower Hamlets Cricket Club, Victoria Park Harriers & Tower Hamlets Athletics Club, which has its headquarters at St. Augustine's Hall located at the north-east corner of the Park. The Club celebrated its 80th Anniversary in 2006.

During the summer cricket is played every evening on the park's three all-weather wickets, organised by the Victoria Park Community Cricket League. The park also has a popular three-lane cricket net, free to use at all times. It was refurbished to a high standard at the end of 2005, paid for by a grant from the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The park is open daily from 7:00am to dusk.^[1]

Victoria Park lake (2004)

In 2010 the National Lottery Big Lottery Fund awarded the London Borough of Tower Hamlets a £4.5 million grant towards a £12 million programme of major improvements to Victoria Park.^[21][23] Plans included a new building, the Eastern Hub, comprising a cafe, public toilets, community rooms and adult play facilities to promote healthy living.

The landscape has been restored in many places, and the Old English gardens restored to include new water features. In 1842 a pagoda was put in London's Hyde Park as an entrance to its Chinese Exhibition, and when the exhibition finished it was moved to Victoria Park's island in the west boating lake for ornamental purposes. The original architect for the park, Pennethorne, designed a bridge to the island that matched the style of the pagoda; this was never built, however, and during WW2 the pagoda suffered much damage.

The pagoda was eventually demolished in the 1950s and all but forgotten, while the water surrounding the island was filled in, shrinking the lake and making what was the island part of the park landscape. With the park's refurbishments that began in 2010 it was decided to restore the island to its former glory; the lake was extended back around the original area, the pagoda was replicated through the use of many photographs and eye-witness information and then, to complete Pennethorne's unfinished vision, the plans for his original bridge were discovered and the bridge built after over 100 years. As a finishing touch, pedalos and row boats were brought back on to the West lake, a feature which had been missing from the park for decades.

Victoria Park lake (2013)

The Burdett-Coutts fountain (named after the Victorian philanthropist Angela Burdett-Coutts) had a partial restoration of its intricate granite carvings and sculptures. In recent years the fountain had been fenced off due to graffiti and vandalism, but along with the restoration the fences were removed, and four symmetrical mirror pools were placed around the fountain along with decorative flower beds. The area is now a public space, with many benches offering an attractive place to sit.

A modern addition to the park is the Memoryscape trail, an audio trail winding through the park that visitors listen to using headphones. The trail consists of many historical facts and tidbits of information, and includes accounts from people who grew up in and around the park, with one person for example reminiscing about the prisoner of war camp in the park during World War 2. Visitors can either download the tracks from the council's website and put them on their own device, or they can get a pair of pre-loaded headphones from the hub in exchange for a small refundable deposit.

As part of the 2012 Summer Olympics, the Romanian Cultural Institute commissioned artist Ernö Bartha to produce two sculptures Bird and Skyscraper in the West Lake.^[24] Despite both being made of hay enforced with steel frames they still remain in the park and have become a prominent feature of the lake receiving their own plaques in 2015.^[25]