At last I take the journey from its beginning to the terminus
For the first time, I started at the beginning of the route so I took the tube to Charing Cross and walked round the corner to Whitehall and Horseguards, where I picked up the bus.
First stop was Lambeth Palace which is currently closed to the public. However next door is The Garden Museum where there was a free exhibition called Sowing Roots, about the history of the gardening traditions that Caribbean people brought with them when they moved to the UK after World War II, including breadfruit and ackee, botanical gardens and the green spaces of South London.
The Garden Museum is also the burial place of John Tradescant (c1570 – 1638), the first great gardener and plant-hunter in British history. Interestingly, Captain Bligh (of Mutiny on the Bounty fame) is also buried here.
Back on the bus and the next stop was Kennington Park. Originally known as Kennington Common, this is where the Chartists gathered for their biggest “monster rally” on 10 April 1848. Soon after this demonstration, the common was closed and, sponsored by the royal family, made into a public park. It had also been a site of public executions until 1800 and an area for public speaking – John Wesley is reputed to have attracted a crowd of 30,000. 1678 First recorded execution at Kennington Common was that of Sarah Elston who was burnt for murdering her husband on 24 April.
The common was one of the earliest London cricket venues and is known to have been used for top-class matches in 1724, when London v Dartford is the earliest known first-class cricket match on Kennington Common.
After visiting the park, I went back on the number 3 and made my way to Crystal Palace Park. The original building from the Great Exhibition that had been installed at Hyde Park on the instruction of Prince Albert in 1851, was eventually moved to this area, hence the name of the district is called Crystal Palace. It was transferred carefully to this site where it stayed until 1933 when it was burned down by a fire. There are still a few remnants of the palace left – the steps and some of the sphinxes. It is easy to see how magnificent the building must have been – there is still a sense of awe.
I was delighted that I made the whole route and will definitely continue to do so. There is so much of London to see and explore and this seems like a great way to do it.
london routemistress 