Brockwell Park History #2: Logged It?
The cache, a small camo'ed pre-form tube, is hidden behind a large piece of dark wood under the jumble of 4 large logs. As usual, take care to watch out for muggles during retrieval & replacement of the cache - and please ensure that it is carefully replaced 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 2)
John Blade's grandson, Joshua Blackburn Jr., inherited the Brockwell Park estate on his mother's death in 1860, and building in the area resumed to take advantage of the opening of Herne Hill Station in 1862. A new building, Brockwell House, was added near the site of the present changing rooms and a line of houses was built along the south side of Dulwich Road. Blackburn contributed to the cost of the new St Jude's Church in their midst, no doubt anticipating further development, with the church at the 
centre of a new neighbourhood, but in his later years development was frustrated when he was confined to a lunatic asylum, and died in 1888.
In the same year, the Lambeth Vestry obtained consent to make a new public park on the east side of
Brixton Hill. But when it became apparent that the Brockwell estate would come on the market, Thomas Bristowe, Norwood's MP, led a campaign to divert the funds to secure the larger and more attractive site. Bristowe took a Bill through Parliament to create the Park, led the committee to negotiate the price and raised the funds from contributions from local authorities and the community to purchase the park for the people of Lambeth & Southwark. Tragically, Bristowe, who had done most to establish the Park, collapsed and died of a heart attack on the steps of Brockwell Hall just after the formal opening ceremony on 6 June 1892 by Lord Rosebery (later Prime Minister from 1894-95) who said 'whatever happens, this is preserved to you and your descendants for ever as an open space'.
Efforts continued over the next 10 years to add the remainder of the estate to the 'new' park. Another 3.5 acres were bought in 1895 to provide access from Brixton via Arlingford Road. JJB Blackburn, Joshua's son, had died in 1898 and the remaining 43 acres were bought from his trustees by the LCC in 1901, and opened formally in 1903 but until the leases expired on the 4 remaining houses, only about half was actually available. The last house was demolished in 1923 and its site incorporated in the park.
Opening Times:
The park gates are open from 07.30 - 15 minutes before sunset so the cache is only accessible during these hours