The triangle of land now occupied by the Robin Hood Garden has always played an important role in the local landscape. Once occupied by a row of Victorian terraced cottages, it is adjacent to the original sites of the historical High Hill Ferry river crossing and two popular local pubs. Together with riverside industries such as timber yards these made it a busy and pivotal location.
Situated at the bottom of a steep hill, aptly named Big Hill, the garden lies at the tip of a broad strip of institutional and community amenity land between Springfield Park and the River Lea. The site was occupied by a One O’Clock Club which was demolished in 2002. It was then left empty and derelict until the creation of a community vegetable garden and orchard in 2010.
The garden acts as an important natural buffer between the urban and riparian landscapes and is a crucial but fragile green corridor for local ecology. For the past several years work has been underway to conserve and reinstate this natural character of this important natural and community resource.
