Millicent Fawcett and Vauxhall Park

The research division here at Kennington Runoff have been working overtime (safely, at home) over the festive period to establish and claim feminist writer, politician, trailblazer and suffragette Millicent Fawcett as one of our own, and we think they’ve cracked it. Her many achievements are outlined here and if you’re the attentive sort you’ll be aware that she was the first female honoured with a statue in Parliament square a couple of years ago.

For a number of years Millicent and her equally esteemed husband Henry Fawcett lived in a house in what is now Vauxhall Park. The house included grounds and the couple realised that in an increasingly cramped Vauxhall this was a privilege which they wanted to share with others. Although the genesis of the idea came from Henry, when he died prematurely in 1884 it came down to Millicent and several other people to fashion the reality. 

The Fawcett’s home and gardens extended from South Lambeth Road back quite a bit. Although spacious, the gardens weren’t quite large enough to create a promenading style park, so Millicent and another pioneering champion of the underdog, Octavia Hill, set about purchasing buildings to create a solid, square park. The park was opened by Prince Charles in 1890. And before you throw your laptops out the window, as he was the Duchy of Cornwall the ground beneath the park was (and is) technically his. 

Vauxhall Park doesn’t look so inviting in December, but you get the point

So, you may be asking yourselves ‘now why isn’t there a memorial to the Fawcetts in Vauxhall Park’? Well this is a great local mystery. There was a very fine stature created by the Vauxhall based Doulton factory of Henry (but not our heroine, go figure) and it lived in the park for 70 years. In a moment of characteristic insanity, Lambeth Council took a sledgehammer to the statue in 1960.  Henry Fawcett’s legacy now lives on in the form of Henry Fawcett Primary School in Bowling Green Street. Apparently the bust of Henry in the school is all that remains of the vanquished statue, but this has never been proven.  And when you compare a regal bronze statue in Parliament Square to a chipped bust in a primary school corridor, I think we know who ended up with the better deal.

Fawcett’s legacy lives in the form of the Fawcett Society, which is in Black Prince Road. Their mission is to fight sexism and gender inequality through research and campaigns.  

A mysterious model village in Vauxhall

If you’re anything like us (and you know you are) you probably spend a fraction of your working week thinking ‘if only there was a miniature mock Tudor village of homes no larger than two feet high in greater Kennington’. Well guess what dear reader, you’re in luck. A mysterious village exists in Vauxhall park, but if you blink you’ll miss it. 

Our little Smurf village was created in 1949 by a retired engineer from West Norwood but not a great deal more is known about it. It was originally intended for Brockwell Park (where the rest of the  village still stands) but this assortment was moved to Vauxhall park in the 1950’s. I mean really, why should Brockwell Park have all the fun? The village consists of six homes and three outbuildings and something vaguely resembling a pub. Cast in concrete and lead, these diminutive dwellings were meant to last, but the reason still remains unknown. 

A nice gawp at the tiny homes in Vauxhall park is just one reason to check it out. It’s also a delightful place to spend a few hours, even in the midst of autumn. They have tennis courts, a kids area, and table tennis amongst other attractions. A few years ago a local benefactor even donated an interesting human sundial to the park. The method by which time is told by the use of the body is suggestively called an ‘analemmatic sundial’. We would love to have been a fly on the wall when the following conversation took place – 

“Hi, is this Vauxhall Park? I’m a benefactor who is really interested in anatomy and I’d like to install an analemmatic sundial into your garden. Any chance of that”? 

more fetes

The Harleyford Road Community Garden Open Afternoon is on Sunday 14th June from 2pm-5pm with teas, music and plants for sale. For more on the magical place that is the Harleyford Road Community Garden, see our piece here.

Harleyford Road Community Garden

Harleyford Road Community Garden

The Friends of Vauxhall Park’s Summer Fair is on Sunday June 21st from 2pm-5pm, with donkey rides, motorised go karts, a rodeo bull, teas and delicious homemade cakes, hot food, ice creams from a vintage ice cream van, not just one bouncy castle but also a giant inflatable slide, Punch and Judy, Crazy Golf, musical entertainments including Valentinos Jazz Band, football training by Chelsea Football Club, giant tea cups, a dog show, and dried lavender and lavender oil for sale, harvested from the park. More info here.

Vauxhall Park Lavender fields

Vauxhall Park Lavender fields