This pocket park next to the Regents Canal was created just under a decade ago as part of a wider regeneration of the Packington Estate.
This part of London, just north of Old Street, was originally laid out with neat rows of Victorian houses, but post-war clearance of what was by then slum housing saw the area cleared and replaced with council blocks. The blocks were very much of their time, long cruciform blocks with large municipal private lawns between them, but often overshadowed by the housing that surrounded the lawns.
In 2006, the entire estate was transferred to the housing association Hyde Group, which subsequently redeveloped it.
After several years of rebuilding works, a new pocket park was opened in November 2016.
So the square, which is actually a long rectangle and is more open to the public than the old semi-private gardens were, is basically a long lawn with a winding path through the middle.
Still young trees are dotted along the route, and plenty of benches to sit on.
Originally laid as lawn, it had to be reseeded in 2023 after the heatwave decimated what was left, and was looking a bit rough again in 2025, but should have received after the autumn rains.
In concept, it’s not entirely unlike the Victorian garden squares in nearby estates, which had evaded the 1960s wrecking ball – so there and here we have a long rectangle surrounded by housing.
When I visit a park, I tend to take far more photos than I use in an article, as many are “visual notes” of things that might be interesting. So, for this park, I took 19 photos. And yet, somehow, not a single one includes the park’s major decorative feature.
At the northern end is a large circular mosaic designed by Islington artist Tessa Hunkin, depicting local flora and fauna around the canal.
Whoops!