Postman's Park

Postman’s Park is a public garden in the City of London, a short distance north of St Paul’s Cathedral. It stands on the site of the former churchyard and burial ground of St Botolph’s Aldersgate church. The park opened in 1880 and later expanded to include burial grounds from Christ Church Greyfriars and St Leonard, Foster Lane. Its ground level is raised because earlier graves were stacked and covered with soil. The park is bordered by Little Britain, Aldersgate Street, St Martin’s Le Grand and the former General Post Office site. The park is worth the journey for George Frederic Watts’s Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice. This memorial honours ordinary people who died saving others and might otherwise be forgotten. It consists of a loggia and wall with ceramic tablets. Only four tablets were in place when it opened in 1900. Mary Watts took over after her husband’s death and added 35 more tablets in four years. Later additions brought the total to 54 tablets by 2009. A visitor finds a quiet garden with the memorial’s long wall and loggia. Ceramic tablets list names and brief accounts of heroic acts. The park also contains remnants of earlier churches, including St Leonard, Foster Lane. The setting remains peaceful despite its central location. The memorial was Grade II listed in 1972 and upgraded to Grade II* in 2018.