Mark Street Gardens is a hidden gem in walking distance from the hustle and bustle of Great Eastern Street, with lots of quiet places to sit and relax. It's a series of small spaces with winding earth paths, providing areas of lawn, shrubberies and flower beds with aromatic plants, and a pergola in the centre of which is a stone monument.
One of Hackney's youngest parks, Mark Street Gardens was created in the early 1980s, after the Langbourne Buildings were demolished in 1978. The Langbourne Buildings were built by the famous philanthropist Sidney Waterlow who went on to become Lord Mayor of London in 1872 and the central pathway in the park follows the line of the original Mark Street, where they were situated. The northern boundary of the gardens is marked by St Michael's Church (now closed) which was completed in 1865.
In the gardens there's a memorial to a Sidney Smith who died in 1870. No one really knows who Sidney Smith was or what his connection to the area was. If you can provide any information on Sidney Smith, please contact us at parks@hackney.gov.uk.