History

A brief past history of Talacre

Kentish Town was probably named after the combination of Ken-ditch; Ken as in Kenwood, being the Celtic word for "green" and "river" and the "ditch" being referred to as the river Fleet.  In 1251 the area was a small hamlet of just 30 houses, fields of pasture and river surrounded it.  In 1801 Thompson's map shows that the current Talacre Gardens were once a part of "Fourteen Acre Field" just west of the hamlet of Kentish Town.

At the end of the 18th Century there was a building boom and Kentish Town had turned from village to a suburb by the mid 19th century.  Land was taken for the railway and the area is described as becoming "a grimy working class district with railway lines, houses of multiple occupancy and the river  Fleet becoming confined and buried in an iron pipe."  Small factories and industries began to spring up everywhere.  Noted industries in the area included: piano and organ factories, scientific instruments, building materials and false teeth!

In 1962 the County of London (Prince of Wales Road, St Pancras) placed a compulsory purchase order on the land for the purpose of "providing public walks or pleasure grounds" in accordance with the Open Spaces Act of 1906.

In 1974-75 the slum terraced houses were demolished and planning permission was granted to use the site as public open space in 1975.  Talacre Open Space was unusual because unlike  many of the Borough's open spaces, which were the result of the preservation of open space during the construction of residential neighbourhoods.  Talacre Open Space was created by the deliberate and large-scale demolition of residential properties.

The park was originally laid out between 1980 and 1982.

The park was closed to the public between 24th February and the end of May 2003 to landscape the area next to the newly constructed Sport Centre.  Works included the demolition of the old Talacre Action Group building, re-landscaping of open space, a new children's play area, a new floodlight multi-use games area and the installation of new perimeter fencing.

When the park was re-opened a new fence had been constructed around the park. This fencing was 1.8m high and had gates at five points on the site.  The gates were opened and closed in accordance with the schedule  of opening and closing times as set out in the By-laws for Camden's Parks and Open Spaces.  The name of the site was changed by public request from Talacre Open Space to Talacre Gardens as the local residents wanted the name of the park to reflect the new high quality gardens.

A park attendant was funded at the site from early in 2005. 

The information above was provided by the LB of Camden Parks & Open Spaces. 

The Friends of Talacre Town Green welcome any information from people or organisations that could contribute to this record of Talacre's history. PLease get in touch via our email address TalacreFriends.org.uk@gmail.com