Glengall Wharf Garden

Glengall Wharf Garden occupies the former site of a municipal refuse depot where, for decades, city waste was loaded onto barges to be carried away along the Surrey Canal. You are standing on what was once known as Glengall Basin, a wide junction in the canal that allowed freight barges to maneuver into the Peckham branch. While the canal itself was filled in long ago, the concrete wall that defined its edge remains visible, tracing the history of an industrial waterway that once moved timber and brick throughout the city. The transformation of this land from a concrete-laden industrial yard to a lush community space required a massive effort, as the site initially lacked any viable soil. Volunteers built the garden by working over the original cobblestone foundations and mounds of construction rubble, eventually layering in the rich earth and compost needed to support a forest garden. This practice of reclaiming derelict urban land and building healthy ecosystems from scratch has turned the area into a hub for sustainable permaculture. If you look closely at the history of the canal basin, you will find it was once part of a bustling commercial corridor anchored by the Edison Bell works on the opposite bank. That factory was a pioneer in recorded sound, producing millions of gramophone cylinders and records every year. In the summer of 1914, the world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson visited those same buildings to record a talk on physical fitness, his voice preserved by the very industry that once relied on these wharves to ship its products to the world.