Mile End Park is a park located in the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and ...

. It is a linear park of some , and was created on industrial land devastated by

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

bombing, with the park lying on land to the east of the

Regent's Canal Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in ea ...

. In the north, it is separated from the southern edge of Victoria Park by the

Hertford Union Canal The Hertford Union Canal or Duckett's Cut, just over long, connects the Regent's Canal to the Lee Navigation in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It was opened in 1830 but quickly proved to be a commercial failure. It was a ...

. It is open 24 hours a day. Mile end green bridge 1

A plan existed from the end of the war to create the park, but extensive development did not begin until the end of the millennium. A pedestrian bridge, opened in July 1999, was built over the Mile End Road, which bisects the park, near

Mile End tube station Mile End is a London Underground station in Mile End, London. It is located in Travelcard Zone 2 and is served by three lines: Central, District and Hammersmith & City. On the Central line, the station is between Bethnal Green and Stratford ...

. The bridge was designed by

Piers Gough Piers Gough (born 24 April 1946) is an English architect in the practice CZWG. His younger brothers are the composer Orlando Gough and Jamie Gough, the University of Sheffield's senior lecturer in Town and Regional Planning. Early life and c ...

. Prior to the park's construction, '' 193 Grove Road'' - at the edge of the park - was transformed by sculptor

Rachel Whiteread Dame Rachel Whiteread (born 20 April 1963) is an English artist who primarily produces sculptures, which typically take the form of casts. She was the first woman to win the annual Turner Prize in 1993. Whiteread was one of the Young British ...

into a cast of its interior. This work won her the

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...

in 1993. In 1381, 60,000 ''Men of Essex'' camped here and met

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

Mile End Mile End is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is east of Charing Cross. Situated on the part of the London-to-Colchester road ...

, on 14 June 1381, during the

Peasants' Revolt The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black ...

. The park now consists of a number of elements (running north–south): ''The Play Arena'' - for children, ''The Ecology Park'' - including a lake, an ecology building, wind turbine and

climbing wall A climbing wall is an artificially constructed wall with manufactured grips (or "holds") for the hands and feet. Most walls are located indoors, and climbing on such walls is often termed indoor climbing. Some walls are brick or wooden constr ...

, ''The Arts Park'', ''The Green Bridge'', ''The Terraced Garden'', ''The South Park'', ''Adventure Park'', ''Sports Park'' - including the Mile End stadium, ''Kirk's Place'' and ''The Children's Park''. Nearby are an extreme sports centre and an electric

Go kart A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of small sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performance ...

track. The Ragged School Museum opened in 1990 in three canal side former warehouses in Copperfield Road. It faces the western edge of the park south of Mile End Road. The buildings previously housed Dr Barnado's Copperfield Road

Ragged School Ragged schools were charitable organisations dedicated to the free education of destitute children in 19th-century Great Britain, Britain. The schools were developed in working-class districts and intended for society's most impoverished youngste ...

. The park has been awarded the ''London First Award'', the Green bridge the ''

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a Charitable organization, charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters ar ...

Award of Merit'', a commendation at the ''

British Construction Industry Awards The British Construction Industry Awards (BCI Awards or BCIA) were launched by ''New Civil Engineer'' magazine and Thomas Telford Ltd in 1998, at the time both owned by the Institution of Civil Engineers. The awards seek to recognise outstanding ...

'' and a special commendation from the ''Prime Minister's Award''. The park has an activ
Friends group

Mile End Stadium

Mile End Stadium, situated at the south end of the park, underwent refurbishment which was completed in 2005. A new sport and fitness centre, the Mile End Park Leisure Centre was built adjacent to the Stadium and opened in 2006. It houses a four- court sports hall, two swimming pools (including one competition standard pool), state-of-the-art fitness studios, and a health suite and sauna. The Mile End Climbing Wall is also located in Mile End Park.

References

External links

Mile End park (LB Tower Hamlets)Mile End park Audio Tour featuring Joanna Lumley (LB Tower Hamlets)The Friends of Mile End Park
{{coord, 51, 31, 34, N, 0, 2, 15, W, scale:20000_region:GB, display=title Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Linear parks Mile End