of the area east of Bermondsey Street was still a. “marshy ... Down and on the
death of the other joint tenants ... The John Stow Survey of London notes that St.
Potters Fields Park History
London
Potters Fields - AD100 In Roman times, most of the existing Potters Fields Park was under water – part of a much wider and shallower River Thames, with a series of water channels, small sandy islands and extensive marshland.
850 – - 500 – 1100 London falls to Viking raiders The present day Potters Fields Park was still mostly covered with marshland, water channels and ditches. To the south was an area known as “Beornmund’s Ey”, the island of Beornmund – probably an anglo-saxon lord. The earliest description of Bermondsey is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is referred to as a Royal Manor belonging to King William, with land for ploughing, the growing of corn, meadowland for cows, and woods to provide nuts or acorns for pigs.
965 – Westminster Abbey is founded - 1014 The Anglo-Saxons and Norwegian Vikings, led by King Olaf, sailed up the Thames to attack the Danes, who were occupying London. The Danes lined up along London Bridge to shower the attackers with spears but the attackers pulled roofs from nearby houses and held them over their heads but were able to get close enough to the bridge to attach ropes to the piers and pull the bridge down. There is speculation that this is the origin of the nursery rhyme, London Bridge is Falling Down
1070 – Work began on the Tower of London - 1100 – 1500
1176 – First stone London Bridge is built
In the mediaeval period a number of buildings were constructed on this part of the Bermondsey riverside for influential church communities and wealthy families (e.g. the Dunleigh/Donley family), and revetments were built to channel the river and reclaim the marshland. There were a number of moated manor houses, including the Rosary (built by Edward II in 1325) and “Falstof’s Place” (built by Sir John Fastolf in 1446), with fishponds and tidal mills. There were two main roads in the area, the Royal Highway (Tooley Street) and Bermondsey Street. However, most of the area east of Bermondsey Street was still a “marshy island” (an eyot) with open pasture – for
Potters Fields Park History
1230 – The original St Paul’s Cathedral is finished
grazing horses and cows – with some market gardening and the growing of willow and elder. The existing Potters Fields Park was part of this much larger open area known as Horsheiedon, Horseye Downe, or Horsleighdowne, mainly owned by the Abbey of Bermondsey, which was founded in 1082, and the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.
1483 – The Princes disappear from the Tower, Richard III is crowned 1509 – - 1538 – 1540 Henry VIII is crowned All land owned by Bermondsey Abbey was
“forcibly surrendered” to Henry VIII, following his excommunication from the Catholic Church. Horseydown later becomes the property of Sir Roger Copley of Galton, Surrey. Horsey-Downe at this time is governed both by the County of Surrey and the Lordship of the Manor of Southwark.
1559 – - 1552 Elizabeth I becomes Queen of England Three parishioners purchase part of HorseyDown and on the death of the other joint tenants the land becomes vested solely in Hugh Eglisfeilde, who leases it to the parish of St. Olave for £20 and 12 shillings per annum. The St. Olaves Vestry allows parishioners to keep cows for 2d per week and horses for 4d per week on the 15 acres of unenclosed meadowland and grassland.
- 1561 St. Olaves School founded, based in St. Olaves Street (Tooley Street) adjacent to the St. Olaves Church (near to today’s London Bridge Station), from an endowment of £8 from Henry Leake on 12 March 1560.
- 1571 St. Olaves School is incorporated by Charter of Queen Elizabeth on 26 July 1571, and later referred to as the “Free Grammar School of Queen Elizabeth”. Sixteen parishioners are incorporated as Governors of the School. Robert Brown, a Puritan Minister, becomes Master of St. Olaves/Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in 1586.
- 1581 On 29 December, Horselydown is “conveyed” to the Governors of the “Free Grammar School of Queen Elizabeth” by Christopher Eglisfeilde of
Potters Fields Park History Grays Inn, son of Hugh, Part of the Down is later leased to a number of parishioners including a parchment maker, an apothecary, a mariner, a dyer a felt-maker and a baker.
- 1586 A new St. Olaves Churchyard is established at the eastern end of Tooley Street, as an annexe to the existing churchyard adjacent to St. Olaves Church by London Bridge. The Churchyard annexe became consecrated ground on 28 June.
- 1590 A Parish Map of St. Olaves and Horsey-Downe, dated 1544, shows the present day Potters Fields Park as comprising the St. Olaves annexe Churchyard, a series of Almes Houses, The Whistlers’s Ground, Mr. Candishes House and Garden, Mr. Weldon’s House and Garden, and a small Bermondsey Manor House. St. Olaves Street ends at the junction of Bermondsey Street, and then continues east as a bridleway across Horsey Downe during this period.
1599 – - 1598 The original Globe Theatre is built on the South The John Stow Survey of London notes that St. Bank Olaves Street runs from London Bridge to
Bermondsey Street, and that the meadow/marshy area to the east of Bermondsey Street is known as “Horse-down”.
1605 – The gunpowder plot 1613 – The Globe Theatre burns down 1616 – - 1618 Shakespeare dies The Pickleherring Pottery making English Delftware was established by the river, run by Christian Willhelm (roughly where the More London Scoop is today) – at its peak it had some 40 potters. The Factory’s landlord was Peter Leister (Leijste). The Factory specialised in “Galleyware”, high quality tableware and jars, and the products were so good that in 1628 King Charles I appointed Wilhelm as Royal Gallypot Maker.
1649 – - 1630 – 1645 Charles I executed at Whitehall Thomas Townsend, Wilhelm’s son-in-law takes over the Pickleherring Pottery on the death of Wilhelm, and expands the business to create a new Pothouse. Favourite designs of this period included the bird on a rock motif, a leaping fox There is a brewery located next to the Pottery in Stony Lane, run by Richard Hartford, and a number of wheelwrights in the area.
Potters Fields Park History - 1634 – 1634 Thomas and John Townsend are taken to court and fined on a number of occasions including “for dumping soil in a channel on a streete between Battlebridge and the Millpond head”, for “keeping hogs, dumping soil in a channel, and for not cleaning his sewer and drain”, “for neglecting the paving by his house”, and “for leaving sand and gravel on the highway”.
1665 – - 1645 – 1684 Great Plague of London Richard Newham takes over the Pickleherring Pottery. As well as being a Potter, he was “a citizen, Embroiderer, Constable and Churchwarden”
- 1650’s St. Olaves Street also referred to as St. Tulies Street. A period of significant new buildings being constructed on Horsey Down, raising considerable income for St.Olaves School. The school leases a further part of the Down to the parish for an annual rent of “a red rose”.
1666 – - 1663 – 1674 Great Fire of London William Fry and Edward Osbaldston are operating as Potters in the area, at a separate pottery by Still Stairs (relocated from Rotherhithe). This would have been located on the north-west corner of the present day Park.
- 1670’s James Barston operating as a Potter in the area, possibly at another small independent kiln.
1694 – - 1682 Foundation of the Bank of England The William Morgan Map shows the St.Olaves annexe Churchyard, an open area called Potts Fieldes, and a number of buildings and warehouses along the river. This is the first reference to Potters Fields
- 1684 – 1708 John Robins takes over the Pickleherring Pottery until 1700, and then it passes to Cheophas Wood who runs it until 1708 when it closes down.
1708 – - 1708 – 1723 St Paul’s Cathedral completed Richard Grove and James Robins relocate the Pickleherring Factory, and operate it from a new site in Horsley Down. The new Factory, later called the White Pot House, stays open until about 1772 when pottery making disappears altogether from the area.
- 1710 The St.Olaves Parish Register shows 124 Potters operating in the area between 1618 and 1710. Between 1710 and 1733 there are still 68 Potters
Potters Fields Park History operating in the Parish.
- 1733 New St. Johns Horselydown Church built and Parish created, taking over parts of the St. Olaves Parish.
- 1746 Rocques Map shows the St. Olaves annexe Churchyard, plus Fields and Warehouses. The burial Ground is probably now shared between the two parishes. This map shows Potters Fields appearing as a street name - a lane linking Tooley Street to Pickleherring Street.
1750 – - 1750’s and 1760’s Westminster Bridge built This period saw the building of a number of new Sufferance Wharves, along the river, including one owned by the wharfinger, Mark Brown.
- 1790’s St. Olaves passes on responsibility of the annexe Churchyard to the neighbouring St. Johns Church.
1810 – - 1799 George III declared mad, his son becomes Regent St. Olaves Churchyard replaced by St. John’s Burying Ground
1829 – Metropolitan Police force set up by Robert Peel 1831 – The new London Bridge opened 1833 – - 1835 Slavery abolished St. Olaves Grammar School is relocated to a site in Bermondsey Street, adjacent to the new railway line, and then closes in 1849 prior to a move to another site.
1837 – - 1836 – 1850 Queen Victoria succeeds to the throne Owners of property in Potters Fields are recorded as including William Blandford Burgess, Robert & Thomas Fauntleroy (hardwood and Ivory dealers), John Gaunt, Mr. Sardlow, Godfrey Saunders, Mr. Street, Robert Goulding , Mrs Symes, Joseph Graves (the Phoenix and Crown PH), and Hester Hopkins.
1838 – Oliver Twist first published 1851 – - 1850 Great Exhibition of Britain A major cholera epidemic breaks out in the area. - 1854 Final Burials take place after legislation closes many burial grounds in the centre of London, because of health scares.
Potters Fields Park History - 1855 St. Olaves School relocated to a site in Tooley Street, adjacent to the existing Potters Fields Park. The new building, designed by Henry Stock, only lasts until 1892.
- 1856 The new Hays Wharf is built by William Cubitt for the Hays Wharf Company, the largest and most powerful of all the dockside companies. Two granaries are operating on the riverside area where Potters Fields Park now stands, including JW Ledgers three-storey building next to Still Stairs.
1858 – - 1861 Construction begins on first sewer system The Great Fire of Tooley Street (which lasted 2 weeks) resulted in most buildings in the area being destroyed or severely damaged.
1863 – - 1870 – 1897 Metropolitan underground railway opened Tower Subway in operation, initially cable–hauled trams taking up to 14 passengers under the river from Pickleherring Street to Tower Hill, and then as a foot-tunnel only. Subway closed soon after Tower Bridge opened.
- 1872 OS Map shows the St. John’s Burial Ground as disused – probably remained as disused church yard until late 1880’s – with a small Charity School next door, a series of bonded warehouses containing timber and leather (part of Mark Brown’s Wharf) and the old Queen Elizabeth Grammar School building.
1888 – Jack the Ripper terrorises East London County of London established
1890 – - 1890 City and South London railway opens, first ‘deep OS Map shows the St. John’s Burial Ground is level’ electrically operated railway in the world now a School Yard, most probably for the adjacent small Charity School
- 1894 Tower Bridge Opens. The OS Map for this year shows the old Burial Ground as “Tooley Street Gardens”, with a small Girls School immediately adjacent, and a number of bonded warehouses fronting the river. One of these, Tower Bridge Wharf (now part of Potters Fields Park) imported hides and skins from the
Potters Fields Park History East Indies for the nearby leather trade in Bermondsey.
- 1896 New larger school constructed at Potters Fields to accommodate the renamed St. Saviours and St. Olaves Grammar School, with facilities for 500 boys. School designed by Edward Mountford, and cost £32,000 to build.
1905 – - 1906 First motorised buses used in London The present day Potters Fields Park is still mostly covered by wharves and bonded warehouses. Mark Browns Wharves (previously C Curlings’s Wharf) occupy nearly all of the riverside part of Potters Fields Park.
1908 – Olympic Games held in London 1913 – First suffragette riot in Parliament Square 1914 – - 1914 – 1916 Outbreak of World War I OS Map shows that the St. John’s Burial Ground/School Yard has now become a “Recreation Ground” with a new Library next door. This is the St. Olaves Branch Library run by the Council, which later closed in the early 1980s.
- 1920 The Tooley Street Recreation Ground includes a children’s playground and a netball pitch.
1928 – - 1930’s All women over 21 entitled to vote Hays Wharf Group owns and controls most of the land and warehouses on the riverside between London Bridge and Tower Bridge, and the amount and variety of food coming into the warehouses leads to the area being known as London’s Larder.
1936 – Edward VIII abdicates to marry Wallis Simpson 1939 – Outbreak of World War II 1940 – - 1940 The Blitz The area was badly damaged by bombing. 1948 – Olympic Games held in London, known as the Austerity Games 1951 – Festival of Britain (Centenary of Great Exhibition) 1952 – Elizabeth II becomes Queen - 1965
Potters Fields Park History Two tons of tin glazed earthenware Delftware was recovered from the site following an archaeological survey, and this dated from the period 1620 – 1700. It appeared to be mainly a dump of waste material, but was of high quality. An ostrich bone dating to around 1610 was also found.
1969 – - 1968 The Beatles ‘Abbey Road’ album released St. Olaves and St. Saviours School closed, and relocated to Orpington. Building is subsequently taken over by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA), South London College, and finally Lambeth College.
- 1969 Closure of the last working dock in the Upper Pool (Hays Wharf).
- 1971 HMS Belfast arrives in the Upper Pool
1977 – 1977 – 1985 Silver Jubilee Britain’s first urban ecology park is created on derelict land (including existing Park area) along the riverside to commemorate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. The William Curtis Ecological Park was managed by the Trust for Urban Ecology, but the land was handed back to the owners, St. Martin’s Property Corporation, in 1985. William Curtis was a famous eighteenth century botanist, who also studied medicine and horticulture, and practiced from a small garden in Bermondsey
1982 – - 1982 Thames Barrier completed New Development Master Plan for riverside area between London Bridge and Tower Bridge (London Bridge City). After a lengthy community campaign and a Public Inquiry, the Plans were amended to include the laying out of a new Riverside Walkway and a 3 acre Park -. This was the origin of the current Potters Fields Park boundary.
- 1987 London Bridge City – Phase 1 completed, creating over 1.25 million square foot of new office space, retail space, a riverside walkway and new Park
- 1988 St. Martin’s Property Corporation and Southwark Council agree to call the new Park “London Bridge City Park”, but the official opening by the Mayor of Southwark is postponed because the Park was barricaded by hundreds of people unhappy with its name. Local community groups organise their own opening of the Park and
Potters Fields Park History rename it Potters Fields Park. The new Park marked a successful end to a hard won community battle led by local resident, Lil Patrick, which started in the late 1970s. Lil opened the new Park with the words “Every blade of grass is worth its weight in gold”. Lil died in 2002 after a lifetime’s service to the local community.
- 1998 London Bridge Holdings Ltd purchase vacant land and buildings from St. Martin’s Property Corporation and ask Norman Foster to produce a Master Plan – the More London Development Plan. The Final Master Plan is approved on 19 August 1999.
2000 – - 2000 London Eye opens City Hall Built as home for the first elected Mayor of London. Small extension to Park on its western edge.
- 2003 David Blaine is suspended in a Perspex box above Potters Fields Park for 44 days without food. The event causes major crowd management problems, including anti-social behaviour and disruption/disturbance to the surrounding communities. Tens of thousands of people visit the Park to witness the spectacle, and the Park is effectively “decommissioned” for nearly 2 months.
- 2004 Lambeth College closes its operations at the old St. Olaves School, and the buildings and land are sold to Berkeley Homes.
- 2005 Potters Fields Park designated as Metropolitan Open Land in the new Southwark Plan.
- 2006 Potters Fields Park closed for major refurbishment.
- 2007 Potters Fields Park re-opens.
2012 – - 2012 th London hosts the 30 Olympiad and its 3rd Potters Fields park hosts a community live site as part of the Olympics
