When was Hatfields first developed?

The street began to take shape in the 1800s as railway development transformed Southwark. The completion of Waterloo Station and rail viaducts across the neighbourhood opened up land for building. Hatfields emerged as a thoroughfare connecting Waterloo to Borough, flanked by warehouses and commercial properties that served the railway and river trade.

Hatfields, Southwark (SE1) — History & Name Origin

Q: Why is it called Hatfields?

Hatfields takes its name from Archbishop Laud's pleasure gardens, established in the 1630s on land that had been owned by the Hatfield family. The archbishop commissioned orchards and gardens on what was then open ground south of the river. When the gardens were developed in the 18th century, the street inherited the Hatfield name from both the original landowners and the archbishop's horticultural estate.

Time Walk

The Railway Junction Made Street

Hatfields is a workman’s street now—a functional ribbon of granite and tarmac connecting Waterloo Station to the Borough market district. Double-decker buses move through at regular intervals, commuters stream across the pavement towards the rail terminus, and the street pulse is determined by the timetables of the rail network rather than the rhythm of the neighbourhood. The buildings flanking the road are mostly Victorian brick and industrial stone, warehouses converted to offices, their character shaped by the demands of moving goods and people across London when steam railways first divided the city.

But the street’s name carries a ghost. It comes not from the bustle around the station, nor from the merchants who established themselves here in the 1800s, but from gardens that existed here 400 years ago. That story begins with a landowner and a clergyman’s vision.

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Name Origin

From Gardens to Commerce

Hatfields takes its name from the Hatfield family, landowners in Southwark during the medieval period and beyond. The street, however, owes its identity to a more illustrious tenant: Archbishop Laud. In the 1630s, Laud commissioned the development of pleasure gardens on land south of the Thames, creating orchards and formal gardens as a horticultural estate. When those gardens fell out of use and the land was eventually developed in the 18th and 19th centuries, the street that emerged inherited the Hatfield name from the original landholding family whose legacy remained embedded in local memory.

The street began to take its modern form during the railway boom of the 1800s. As British History Online documents, the completion of Waterloo Station and the rail viaducts across Southwark opened up land for development. Hatfields emerged as a commercial thoroughfare, flanked by warehouses and works yards serving the newly connected network of rail and river trade. The street’s name persisted through all this change—a geographic anchor that stretched from the gardens of the Stuarts to the industrial confidence of the Victorians.

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The Street Today

Working Victorian London

Hatfields runs from Waterloo’s main concourse southwestward towards Union Street and Borough, a busy pedestrian artery and bus corridor. The street is defined by its Victorian brick warehouses and industrial-era storefronts—mostly converted now to offices, hotels, and restaurants, but retaining the solid, functional character of 19th-century Southwark commerce. The view is dominated by scale and utility rather than ornament. The British History Online heritage account of the area notes the survival of these period structures as a testament to the street’s role as a goods and people corridor during London’s railway expansion.

Today the street carries more foot traffic than it ever did in its garden phase. The shops and cafés cater to commuters and visitors heading to the South Bank cultural venues. Nothing here evokes the orchards of the 1630s. The Hatfield name, however, remains—a lexical thread connecting four centuries of London, from clerical horticulture to the railway age to the present moment when thousands pass through daily without knowing the street once grew apples.

Did You Know?

Archbishop Laud, who commissioned the gardens on this site, was executed in 1645 during the English Civil War. His horticultural ambitions fell away with the old order, replaced by the utilitarian needs of Victorian commerce.

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On the Map

Hatfields Then & Now

National Library of Scotland — Ordnance Survey 6-inch, c. 1888. Hosted by MapTiler. Modern: © OpenStreetMap contributors.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it called Hatfields?

Hatfields takes its name from the Hatfield family, mediaeval landowners in Southwark. The street inherited the name, though the site is best known historically as the location of Archbishop Laud’s pleasure gardens, established in the 1630s. When the gardens fell out of use and the land was developed in the 19th century as a commercial thoroughfare, the Hatfield name persisted.

When was Hatfields built as a street?

The street took its modern form during the railway expansion of the 1800s. The completion of Waterloo Station and the rail viaducts across Southwark created demand for commercial development. Hatfields emerged as a thoroughfare lined with warehouses and goods yards serving the newly connected rail and river network.

What is Hatfields known for?

Today Hatfields is known as a busy commercial corridor linking Waterloo Station to the Borough neighbourhood. The street retains Victorian industrial architecture and serves as a key pedestrian and traffic route. Its character reflects its dual heritage: the gardens of the 17th century and the railways and commerce of the 19th.