It’s all in a Name!

Why Dean Gardens?  At one point the area was named Ealing Dean (which may derive from denu meaning valley). And the Gardens are in what was part of Ealing Dean Common. In the past the Gardens were also known as Jackass Common!  Ealing Dean's principal claim to fame in the 1800s was its pony and donkey races. These races were run on Jackass Common and ended in 1880 when the local council forbade them on moral grounds.

Until about a hundred years ago this area was mainly market gardens and orchards with the Uxbridge Road being a busy 19th Century stagecoach route.  Something of a difference now!

Dean Gardens was established as a formal planted garden in the early 1900s and still retains some of its beautiful iron railings. While still having paths and some formal planting the Gardens have become a fun and relaxing area for both adults and children.  

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New Eco Meadow *

The Gardens are receiving something of a makeover, with work starting on a project to reduce the risk of flooding on town centre roads in West Ealing, whilst providing an attractive new ‘rain garden’ for local wildlife.

The first project of its kind in London, it uses a natural stone wool material instead of the usual plastic, to create a sustainable drainage system (SuDS), which will divert storm water from the high street and also create a new habitat for wildlife along the north edge of Dean Gardens.

Plastic crates have traditionally been used to build solutions to prevent flooding, which meant that lots of plastic went into the ground. In line with council’s ambition to make Ealing net zero by 2030, the new drainage system uses non-plastic soft blocks with attached pipes.

The innovative system will collect storm water from the highway and slowly release it into the surface water sewers, acting as a temporary reservoir.

Directly above the rainwater storage system will be a wildlife-friendly, flowering meadow, providing a new habitat aimed at attracting butterflies, bees, birds and amphibians (above left, area to be developed, right, artist’s impression of eco meadow). This has been come to be known elsewhere as a ‘rain garden’ 

Dean Gardens has had a reputation in the past for anti-social behaviour but the installation of CCTV cameras, relocating park benches has created a very different kind of feel to this well used park.  For more information on the background to the project look at: https://new-practice.co.uk/dean-gardens

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Before the works)

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(this shows an artists impression of the completed work) 

 

Why Visit?

If you are in the West Ealing area you may well want to pop in to sit down and relax and let the busy Uxbridge Road go by.  Or the innovative children’s playground is always a winner.

If you don’t want to shop locally you may want to have a look around the adjacent area away from the shops, if you cross Northfield Avenue and walk up Mattock Lane you pass lovely old houses and cottages, with Northfield Allotments to your right. Further up is St John’s Church juxtaposed with a wonderfully colourful temple!  Carry on up the green and leafy Mattock Lane and you will come to Walpole Park where you can stretch your legs, have a coffee, visit a historic house and more playgrounds. For more information on this see our Park of the Month for January 2023

 

How to get here:

Bus: 207, 483, E2, E3, E8,SL8

Facilities:  Paths suitable for wheelchairs/shared use

                   No toilets but lots of cafes locally or in Walpole Park.

 

*Thank you to Around Ealing for the details and pix of the Eco Meadow