London’s Pocket Parks: Abbey Gardens, E15

Next to the DLR in east London is a large community garden that sits on a partially excavated ancient monument.This is Abbey Gardens, which you will not be surprised to learn takes its name, as does the wider area, from the Stratford Langthorne Abbey. The abbey, one of the richest in England, was closed down by King Henry VIII in 1538, and the buildings were sold off for their stone. The land wasn’t heavily developed until the 1800s though as London expanded and the area became industriali