1849 - When a churchyard
1st May 1877, at the Playground’s opening day
4th January 1912, with what is now the site of the Amano Hotel in the background
1900s, seen from Crown Court
16th May 2022
16th May 2022
16th May 2022
24th May 2022
14th June 2022 - Split Trip Hazard
14th June 2022 - Visiting Gloucester Gate Playground, Regent’s Park
1st April 2023
26th April 2023 - James Virgo and the Land Use Consultants (LUC)
8th May 2023
17th May 2023
22 May 2023
19th June 2023 - Celebrating the Westminster Greening Grant
11th July 2023
Isabel, Wesley and Kayla visiting from Holland on 12th October 2023
December 2023 - Ellie, co-founder of Rebel Tours
12th January 2024 - discovering 1892 & 2024
26th February 2024 - Penny Wilson - Assemble Play
Local Primary School children planting the Community Orchard in March 2024
27th January 2024 - RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 2024
1st February - Rachel Blake
6th February 2024 - Community consultation
14th May 2024 - The first 1 tonne bags of sand to be delivered to Drury Lane
Four lorryloads of 20 bags each were delivered in May 2024
14th May 2024 - Seen from the Playground’s historic gates
Continental Landscapes clearing around the ball court on behalf of Westminster Council to make way for the sand
16th May 2024 - pouring sand directly in behind the ball court by carefully scoring incisions into the undersides of the bags
After the large lorries would deliver the bags to Drury Lane, the forklift would move them to Martlett Court to keep the Drury Lane pavements clear
17th May 2024 - Local children marking the last day of bare compacted earth at the Playground
The appearance of the remaining 19th century gravestones enhanced by the new sand
A powered barrow being used to get the sand up the Playground’s narrow ramps
Sand being unloaded into the existing brick planters from the powered barrow
21st May 2024 - Newly reelected Mayor of London Sadiq Khan visiting the Playground with Leader of Westminster Council Adam Hug
Existing plants seen for the first time against the luminous sand
The existing pergola’s overgrown ceiling’s cut out to allow light to reach the planters below
Local schoolchildren helping install the sand
The new sand, bringing a beach-like atmosphere to the heart of Covent Garden
Experimenting with mounding sand to provide more interest, as directed by Peter Korn
The pair of Ginkgo trees at the corners of the ball court, newly bordered by sand
Friday 24th May - The playground seen from Drury Lane, on the day the last of the first eighty bags of sand was installed
The sand applied flush with the existing 1980s brick planters, as directed by Peter Korn
Friday 24th May 2024 - Local families celebrating the installation of the sand