Burgess Park is a public park situated in the London Borough of Southwark and is one of the largest parks in South London.
Unlike most other parks in London, Burgess Park was carved out of a highly built-up area of the city. Virtually all the land now occupied by the park was previously used for housing, industry and transport infrastructure.
An important stage in the construction of the park was the closure of the Grand Surrey Canal in the early 1970s, which terminated at Addington Wharf on Camberwell Road. The stretch of canal now incorporated in the park is the site of Camberwell Wharf. Other land incorporated in the park was occupied by housing. While some of this housing was in poor condition, a lot of perfectly serviceable homes were demolished to build the park, and this resulted in strong local feelings about the park.
It was named Burgess Park in 1973 after Councillor Jessie Burgess, Camberwell’s first female Mayor
