Old Paradise Gardens

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Old Paradise Gardens is a small park in Lambeth, London. It covers about 0.76 hectares (1.9 acres) and opened to the public in 1884.

Before it became a park, it was the burial ground for St Mary’s Church, Lambeth, from 1703 to 1853 because the churchyard was full. Archbishop Tenison bought a market garden there in 1703 for £120, and it was consecrated as a burial ground in 1705. It was enlarged in 1814 (the extension was consecrated in 1816). A watch house was built in 1825. The burial ground closed in 1853.

By 1880 the area looked untidy, so Lambeth’s authorities turned it into a public garden, which opened in 1884. In 1929 the park was extended by adding the site of a bottle factory on Whitgift Street.

By the 1970s the recreation ground had deteriorated and much of it was paved over. It was later restored and redesigned with grassy mounds, a water feature, seating, shrubs and spring bulbs donated by the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association. A plaque marks the old watch house. Mortuary buildings in the northeast were removed during the restoration. Gravestones still line the outer walls, which are Grade II listed; they were on the Heritage at Risk Register but were removed from the list after the 2021 restoration.

In 2013 the park was refurbished again, with new entrance gates, and renamed Old Paradise Gardens. The Garden Museum runs weekly gardening sessions for local residents. Future plans include a cut-flower business to help pay for maintenance and more wildflower planting to match the Garden Museum.