Brockwell Park History #1: In Defence
The cache is hidden low down behind a broken part of the wooden perimeter fence at the northern end of the park, close to the Brixton Water Lane entrance. Please take care to watch out for muggles when undertaking cache operations and ensure you replace the cache properly concealed - thanks!
One of London's loveliest leafy expanses, the 124 acre Brockwell Park is very popular with locals. it is notable for 'Brixton's Beach', its large lido and one of the few remaining outdoor swimming pools in London. In 2003, a meticulously built miniature railway was opened. The 200+ year-old Brockwell Hall is a handsome Regency lodge on the park heights. The shaded arbour in the English walled garden adjacent to the Hall is a peaceful place to chill out and escape from the hustle and bustle of the surrounding city.
A brief history (Part 1)
Until 1807, the whole of Tulse Hill and Brockwell Park was a single estate. It originated as the three Manors of Bodley, Upgrove and Scarlettes
which were first recorded in the 13th century. From 1352-1537 the whole area was owned by St Thomas' Hospital which was then a monastic establishment in Southwark. After Henry VIII seized monastic estates, the land changed hands several times and by the 1650s was in the hands of the Tulse family (Sir Henry Tulse was Lord Mayor of London in 1684). The original Brockwell Hall stood near Norwood Road, roughly opposite Rosendale Road.
In 1807 the estate was split in two and the western portion developed as Tulse Hill. In the next few years most of the eastern portion was bought by John Blades, a wealthy Ludgate Hill glass merchant. In 1811-13 he demolished the old Hall and built a new house at the top of the hill.
His friend and landscape gardener, JB Papworth, laid out most of the original fields as the private park of the new Brockwell Hall. Some of the houses in Brixton Water Lane were built from 1815 for estate staff. In between, Clarence Lodge was built in 1825 where the BMX track is today. In 1828 work started on a street of houses, Brockwell Terrace on the site of the present Lido, but development came to a halt with Blades' death in 1829.
Opening times:
The park gates are open from 07.30 - 15 minutes before sunset daily and so the cache may only be accessed during these hours