[6][7] The Brockwell Lido, a Grade II listed art deco building near the north of the park, is an open-air swimming pool popular with swimmers and bathers.

[10] The Grade II* listed Brockwell Hall[11] was built between 1811 and 1813 when the area was part of Surrey and was the country seat of glass merchant John Blades Esq.

The land and house were acquired by the London County Council (LCC) in March 1891 and opened to the public on 2 June in the following summer, led by the local MP Thomas Lynn Bristowe.

[13] During World War II, three sites in the park were set aside for wartime food production in the form of 'Pig Clubs', built of timber and bricks salvaged from bombed houses.

[28] In May 1981, Aswad and Pete Townshend "swigging Remy Martin brandy"[29] headlined a TUC benefit gig for the 'People's March For Jobs' campaign, with a crowd of 70,000 in attendance.

[32] Madness also headlined a Greater London Council / CND 'Festival for Peace' in Brockwell Park in 1983, compered by John Peel, with a crowd of 30,000 in attendance.

[34][35] In August 1984, the park hosted a GLC free festival, where Leader Ken Livingstone gave a speech, and the increasingly rowdy crowd during performances by The Fall and Spear of Destiny was calmed by poet Benjamin Zephaniah before the headline set by The Damned.

[36] One eyewitness recalls The Fall being pelted with cans during their performance, with singer Mark E. Smith narrowly dodging one effort, "about an inch from his face, when he suddenly twitched to the right and let it sail past him".

In May 1994, an Anti Nazi League Carnival in Brockwell Park featured performances by The Manic Street Preachers, The Levellers, and Billy Bragg.

[41] In June 2002, Australian band Midnight Oil headlined The Fierce Festival in Brockwell Park in front of a crowd of 20,000 people.

[42][43] A dance event called Purple in the Park was held on the preceding day, headlined by Grace Jones, and including performances by Boy George and Yoko Ono.