History
The original house which stood here, and its grounds which make up the present park, was once the property of John Soane the architect, who bought it in 1800. After several more changes of ownership it was purchased by the Urban District Council of Ealing in 1900. The Borough surveyor Charles Jones who negotiated the terms of the sale with his close friend Sir Walpole also went on to set out the design of tree lined avenues, paths and flower beds. The outer path is nearly a mile in circumference. The sides of the pond nearest Pitzhanger Manor was planted with plants and shrubs.
Soane's house then became the borough's central public lending library. The library vacated the site in 1984. Work then began on researching the building to discover the original décor and renovating it back to how it had been in Soane's day. A library extension that had been built on the north-side was converted into the present day art gallery.
At the end of the 1980s some restoration work was done to recreate some of the original layout by Soane of the garden, which he had done with the help of John Haverfield.
Read more about this topic: Walpole Park
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