Bernie Spain Gardens: A Small Park With A Big Heart

Anyone that lives in London or has visited the city has almost certainly had a walk along the South Bank.

If you have, you will have walked past a small park, most likely without paying it much notice. Next time you are in the area though, spend a bit of time there, because it has a very inspiring story to tell.

The Background

Prior to the Second World War the South bank of the Thames was almost entirely a stretch of wharfs, warehouses and factories. 

The area suffered a lot of bomb damage during the Blitz and after the war a large section, between Westminster Bridge and Waterloo Bridge, was cleared for the Festival of Britain in 1951.

The section from Waterloo onwards remained largely industrial.

By the 1970s, after industry and sea-borne trade had largely left central London, most factories and warehouses lay derelict. It was therefore ripe for redevelopment.

The area had started to attract commercial developments that were not bringing any value to the local Southwark community. The residential population of the area had dwindled from 50,000 to 4,500 by the early 1970s. The schools and local businesses were shutting. 

The site the gardens area today were occupied by a derelict warehouse and the Eldorado ice cream factory.

A proposal had been put forward in the 1970s for a development to occupy the entire stretch of riverside from Waterloo Bridge to Blackfriars. It would have consisted of 1 million square feet of office space and Europe’s tallest hotel. 

It was referred to by locals as the ‘Berlin Wall’, because it would totally cut off the community and indeed anyone but the companies from the river.

The Coin Street Action Group

The local residents subsequently formed the Coin Street Action Group to fight the proposal and put forward an alternative plan that prioritised people and community. Part of the plan included a riverside walkway, community facilities, affordable housing and a park.

The GLC (Greater London Council), originally supported the office scheme but in 1981, thankfully, got behind the community. After seven long years, in 1984, the CSAG bought the 13 acre site from the GLC for £1 million.

Transformation of the Space

After this win they proceeded to also set up the Coin Street Community Builders to carry out the plan. 

Between 1984-1988 the derelict buildings were cleared, the riverside walkway was completed and the new park was laid out. 

The park, when it was finished was named Bernie Spain Gardens after one of the key campaigners.

Bernie Spain

Bernadette (Bernie) Spain grew up in Manchester in the Second World War and moved to London in around 1960 to study as a clinical Psychologist. After graduating, she became particularly involved in improving the quality of life for children born with disabilities, such as spina bifida.

She was a life-long campaigner for equality and in the 1970s became involved in the Community Health Councils in South London, for example pushing for a new community hospital in Lambeth. 

When the ‘Berlin Wall’ proposal was put forward for the South Bank, she became a founding member of the CSAG and helped run jumble sales, produced leaflets, posters, organised public forums and met with planners. 

She very sadly died in April 1984, whilst on holiday in the Cairngorms, at the age of fifty. This was just before the group successfully bought the site from the GLC, so she never lived to see the community vision realised. 

The Garden 

Bernie Spain Gardens is split into two, bisected by the street Upper Ground. 

There are some lovely planted areas, lawns and seating. 

Right by the gardens you will see the Palm Co-op housing development, built by the Coin Street team in 1994.

It consists of 27 homes, run on a co-operative basis, without the ‘right to buy’. The group has successfully built over 220 homes, on social rents, housing around 1000 people. 

On the other side is Gabriel’s Wharf. This was used as a construction compound for the community builders, until 1988, when it was opened as a place for little boutique shops, restaurants, food outlets and more. 

There is an odd stone sculpture in the garden by the riverside.

It looks like a ‘tick’ and is apparently to stand on, lean back, giving the viewer good views over the river to St Paul’s. 

The Oxo Tower

The adjoining Oxo Tower Wharf development is also part of the original 13 acre site.

In 1900 a power station was built, on the site of a wharf, to supply electricity to the post office. 

In the late 1920s it was purchased by the Liebig Meat Extract Company. They made OXO stock cubes and the architect Albert Moore famously incorporated the name with windows into the tower.

This was to get around the restriction on skyline advertising. 

By the early 1970s, the building was derelict and from the 1990s, a restoration project was carried out. It opened in 1996 and contains retail design studios, specialist shops, cafes, exhibition spaces and a housing cooperative. 

So, next time you are walking past, you can look at Bernie Spain Gardens with a new found appreciation.

It is a lovely green oasis in the area and a great place to consider, just how different this area could have been had it not been for those tireless local residents.

Thank you for reading, some more amazing London gardens below!