Metropolitan Public Gardens Association

The MPGA was the starting point for the careers of the ground-breaking female landscape gardeners Fanny Wilkinson and Madeline Agar.

The Irish philanthropist Lord Brabazon (who, from 1887, was the 12th Earl of Meath) wanted to make more effort than the Kyrle Society (of which he was a member) was able to do to capitalise on the Metropolitan Open Spaces Act 1881.

[3] In 1884 the Kyrle Society cleared and restored as public open space the derelict burial ground of St George's, Bloomsbury, north of Coram's Fields.

The number of parks and gardens and other public spaces that the MPGA funded and developed is so extensive that a complete list would be almost impossible to compile.

The list of notable projects below is set out in chronological order of the MPGA's involvement, rather than the date of the open space itself.

Since 1967, the MPGA has awarded the 'London Spade' each year to individuals and institutions that have made significant contributions to London’s green open spaces.