Space to Visit

The recreation ground was the estate’s focal point and opened to the public in 1906, having been laid out for £4,475, the responsibility of Battersea Borough Council. It was not enclosed to the north until c.1918 when 26 more dwellings were added to the estate extending Reform Street. Latchmere Estate’s design was influenced by Garden City principles of town planning and remains a small scale oasis in the centre of the surrounding high-rise developments. The earlier houses had moulded window heads and projecting canopies over the entrances, with railings in front of narrow forecourts, but these railings were removed during WWII. The recreation ground has a central playground with an area to the west that is largely tarmaced with two fine mature willows. A north-south path divides the recreation ground, with to the east a landscaped area with trees, shrubs and flower beds, including a pergola shelter of more recent date than the original layout. The perimeter has fine trees. Other planting in the estate included street trees, predominantly pollarded London plane trees.