Stockwell Skatepark

Stockwell Skatepark – aka 'Brixton Bowls' or 'Brixton Beach' – is a concrete skatepark situated on the corner of Stockwell Park Walk and Stockwell Road in the borough of Lambeth in South London. Construction of the park was funded by the Lambeth Borough Council in 1978 and it has been used since then by skateboarders, BMXers, rollerskaters, and assorted other self-propelled wheeled vehicle practitioners. The park is unsupervised and free to use at all hours, and has remained consistently popular throughout its life, both with locals and with visitors from all over the world.

The skatepark viewed from a roof across the road, taken on 24 July 2012

History

Prior to the park's construction, the site was home to Brixton Tabernacle Baptist Church, which has since been relocated to a new brick building nearby on Stockwell Road, opposite Brixton Academy.

The park was built in 1978 by skatepark builder Lorne Edwards. From its inception through to the mid-1990s, the park remained untouched. In the mid-90s, the council overlaid the original by then very rough grey surface with a smoother red skin of concrete. In September 2005 that overlay was seriously deteriorated and the park was resurfaced again in grey concrete, this time removing that red surface first. This new surface soon cracked though, and became dangerous in certain places. Users of the park were angry with Lambeth Borough Council for using sub-standard contractors who had no experience in skatepark building. Following that effort, users of the park successfully campaigned for a further resurfacing. This was carried out between September 2007 and October 2008, this time with experts involved and assisted by a number of local skaters and BMXers. In addition to the new surface, a number of new features were also added during the redevelopment, most notably a 6-foot bowl end with coping in the north-east corner of the park, previously an empty space.

The park has been supported since 2002 by Brixton Cycles, a bike and skate shop which was located next to the park until 2015. The shop has now relocated slightly further north on Brixton Road.

Brixton BMX Club was formed here in the mid 1980s. Lucian Hendricks, a pro skateboarder for Dogtown in the late 1980s, grew up skating at the park.

The park is overseen by the Friends of Stockwell Skatepark user group. It is registered as an Asset of Community Value with Lambeth Borough Council.

  • London Bus Routes 2, 196, 322, 333, 345 and Night Bus Route N2
  • London Underground: Brixton Station (Victoria Line)
  • National Rail: Brixton Station (Southeastern)

References

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