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Seats around the bandstand, Battersea Park

When Victoria Park in the East End was being created in 1844, a park on the site of Battersea Fields was also proposed. The Fields were a place where drunken brawls and duels were not uncommon. In the 1840s, the architect Thomas Cubitt advised the government to clean up the area which was right across the river from his high class housing developments in Pimlico and Belgravia. The government bought 320 acres of land, closed the taverns and cleared 200 acres for parkland. The remaining 120 acres was leased for building to fund the creation of the park. Plans were made but it was not until 1854 that Battersea Park was laid out together with the surrounding streets. The flat site was landscaped with earth from Victoria Docks, which were being constructed at the time, and the 15-acre boating lake was created. This is the most extensive of the lakes created in the London municipal parks of the 19th century. Battersea Park was opened by Queen Victoria in 1858. Its popularity was augmented by the sudden popularity of cycling. Bicycles were forbidden in Hyde Park so keen cyclists flocked to Battersea Park. These attractive seats are some of those surrounding the bandstand.