Description
Victoria Park, "Vicky Park" to locals, is the great green space of London's East End, between Bethnal Green, Bow and Hackney Wick: 86 hectares of lawns, lakes and gardens, bordered by canals and busy with families, runners and summer festivals.
On the West Lake stands a Chinese pagoda on its island, rebuilt from old photographs, with the bridge its 19th-century architect designed but never built. Nearby is the ornate Burdett-Coutts drinking fountain of 1862. At the east end, two stone alcoves from old London Bridge, demolished in 1831, have sheltered walkers here since 1860.
The park opened in 1845 after a mass petition to Queen Victoria, and soon became the "People's Park". Crowds gathered on the central lawn to hear speakers like William Morris, and in 1978 The Clash played a Rock Against Racism concert here.
On many Sundays model boats race on the boating lake: the Victoria Model Steam Boat Club, founded here in 1904, is the oldest of its kind in the world.
On the West Lake stands a Chinese pagoda on its island, rebuilt from old photographs, with the bridge its 19th-century architect designed but never built. Nearby is the ornate Burdett-Coutts drinking fountain of 1862. At the east end, two stone alcoves from old London Bridge, demolished in 1831, have sheltered walkers here since 1860.
The park opened in 1845 after a mass petition to Queen Victoria, and soon became the "People's Park". Crowds gathered on the central lawn to hear speakers like William Morris, and in 1978 The Clash played a Rock Against Racism concert here.
On many Sundays model boats race on the boating lake: the Victoria Model Steam Boat Club, founded here in 1904, is the oldest of its kind in the world.