Sport in London’s public green spaces in the inter-war years

Abstract

ABSTRACTMost research on sports venues has focused on commercial stadia instead of public green spaces like parks in major cities such as London. This article charts the development and distribution of sport in London’s public green spaces from the early 1920s until the outbreak of a new war in 1939. Based on original sources from various London archives, the article depicts general trends in the evolution of sport and public parks. By comparing various municipal authorities and the Office of Works, the government department responsible for the Royal Parks, the article demonstrates that most sport venues were located in parks. It shows that in London most municipal parks became sports parks accommodating numerous facilities, suggesting that public parks were crucial sport venues for most people. It furthermore argues that the authorities managing parks were the main providers of sport in the city and that they reacted to continuously growing demand from below. Nevertheless, there were crucial differences between authorities on allocating their public green space for sport. Challenging the view that men dominated public green space, the authorities studied paid close attention to women and children as users of parks and sports facilities.