Clissold Park and Clissold House

One of Hackney’s best loved traditional parks, Clissold Park was opened in 1889 and has held a Green Flag award since 2006. Green Flags are awarded yearly to the best green spaces in the country.

Clissold Park and House were renovated in 2011 as part of an £8.9 million Heritage Lottery Fund restoration project.

• management plan
• history of the park and house

Amenities

• aviary and animal enclosures
• children’s play area
• Clissold House (café and function rooms)
• Clissold House – Hackney Venues
• cafe
• dog free areas
• fountains
• multi-use games area
• organic food growing area
• park office
• pond dipping platform
• table tennis table
• river
• splash pad
• tennis courts
• toilets and accessible toilets
• wheels park

Splash Pad

The splash pad opens on 20 May 2023.

It’s free to use every Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 6pm until 23 September 2023. You don’t need to make a booking for the splash pad, but if you want to guarantee entry then we advise you to book in advance. 50% of the splash pad’s capacity is reserved for people that have pre-booked and 50% for people that turn up without booking on a first-come-first-served basis.

To book a session for a specific day and time, visit Better.

Clissold House

Clissold House is a Grade II* listed building in the middle of Clissold Park that hosts weddings, meetings and parties.

The House is available to hire for weddings, meetings and parties.

Café

Located in Clissold House, Park Life Café is the perfect place to unwind.

Enjoy locally roasted barista crafted Coffee which pairs excellently with cakes and bakes that are made here in Hackney.

Freshly made ‘to go’ food options are available. For a tasty bite to eat on the move, as well as hot dishes from the kitchen. With a wide range of options available to suit all tastes and dietary requirements, there’s something for everyone.

Both the upstairs main café and the downstairs kiosk also serve ice cream cones, blended to order smoothies, ice cream milkshakes, London Fields ales and other seasonal beverages:

See menu.

Pump House kiosk

The brand new Pump House kiosk opened in March 2023. It is run by Fink’s, who have tailored their menu of sandwiches and nibbles to the park setting.

Their focus is on top notch coffee and high quality seasonal ingredients from local producers.

They are committed to sustainability. They have carbon zero delivery and commit to using no single use plastic.

They’re London Living wage employers, among many other pro-environment, pro-employee initiatives. Follow them on instagram.

Old paddling pool

The old paddling pool in Clissold Park is now closed, and has been replaced by the new splash pad.

As part of the splash pad consultation, we asked people to vote from a range of options for old paddling pool space.

Over 1,000 people voted, but we also received a significant number of other suggestions for the space.

As a result, we’ll be undertaking further engagement at a future date.

You can find the results of the vote on pages 11 to 12 and 23 to 24 of the Clissold splash pad consultation report (PDF 2mb).

Animals

Our collection of animals is one of the most popular features of Clissold Park. There are birds, goats and a small herd of fallow deer. Our staff members look after the animals. Vets and a specialist deer manager inspect the animals to keep them healthy. We feed them a specific diet and ask that you do not feed them whilst visiting. 

See animals in Clissold Park fact sheet (40kb).

Deer management

Deer have lived in the park since 1890, just one year after the Park was opened. Fallow deer typically live for around 10 to 12 years. We have a non-breeding herd, which means that there are no natural replacements for elderly deer.

In November 2016, seven young deer were introduced. Some of the older deer were moved to a private deer park in Devon, about 4 times the size of the Clissold Park deer paddock.

Terrapins in the lakes

These animals have been introduced to the lakes and are considered invasive in the UK.

We’re investigating a number of options for the humane capture and removal of the terrapins from both lakes in Clissold. There are a number of challenges in this respect. Notably the lack of organisations that would be able to capture them, or organisations that would take them once captured.

Holding your own events and activities

You can put on plays, films, live or recorded music, and dance performances in our licensed area. See Clissold Park licensed area map (PDF 269kb). To find out about holding events in parks visit park events. 

Clissold Park User Group (CPUG)

The Clissold Park User Group work closely with us on joint projects. The group meets approximately every two months.

Barbecues

Barbecues are not allowed in Clissold Park.

Dogs

Dogs are not allowed in the play area or sports facilities.

Council officers have the power to request that you put your dog on a lead if:

• it’s behaving aggressively
• it’s causing damage
• you don’t have appropriate control over it

More information on dogs in parks.

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