Southwark Park

Southwark Park is located in Rotherhithe, in central South East London, England, and is managed by the London Borough of Southwark. It first opened in 1869 by the Metropolitan Board of Works as one of its first parks. It was designed by Alexander McKenzie and covers 63 acres (250,000 m²). It takes its name from being in what was the old Parliamentary constituency of Southwark at the time of its opening.

It received £2.5 million from the National Lottery's Heritage Lottery Fund in 1998 which enabled large parts of the park to be refurbished. The park is protected by Fields in Trust through a legal "Deed of Dedication" safeguarding the future of the space as public recreation land for future generations to enjoy.

The Old English Cottage Garden was originally named for Lt-Col J. J. Sexby, first Parks Superintendent for the London County Council. The idea for the rose garden came from Dr Alfred Salter, Member of Parliament for West Bermondsey. It was opened in 1936 and was named after Ada Salter when she died in 1942. A "Tree of Heaven" (Ailanthus glandulosa) is also planted there, which had a symbolic meaning in relation to Salter's Quaker beliefs.

The bandstand dates from 1884 and was originally sited in the Royal Horticultural Society grounds at South Kensington. It has a sister in Peckham Rye Park. Other facilities include a cafe, a wildlife garden, a boating lake and Southwark Park Galleries, which has a year-round programme over two galleries. Sports facilities include an athletics track run by Fusion, a bowling green, football pitches, a cricket pitch and tennis courts. The park also has a contained children's playground with swings, a slide and other small rides. The park is also home to Southwark parkrun, one of the many free, weekly 5k runs held in both the UK and internationally. It is held every Saturday at 9.00am (localtime).

There are "Friends of Southwark Park" and "Young Friends of Southwark Park" groups to encourage the community to get involved in the management of their park. The Friends of Southwark Park is a non-party-political community organisation, recognised by the London Borough of Southwark. Its primary role is to liaise with, and encourage the council to look after the parks in the interests of the people who use them.

In 2018 a new group, the Southwark Park Association 1869, was formed to further the park's aims and objectives.

As with many spaces within London, the Plane tree (Platanus × hispanica) is dominant within Southwark Park, particularly the northernmost section around the bandstand, which runs next to Jamaica Road.

However, the park is also rich in trees less common in London. Opposite the entrance to the art gallery is a walnut tree (Juglans regia) and a series of three or four silver maples (Acer saccharinum). There is as also a red oak (Quercus rubra) close to these maples. Next to the duck pond and the garden area are three swamp cypresses (Taxodium distichum), although without the distinctive wooden 'knees' which sometimes surround trees of this variety.