Crumbles Castle overlooks Bingfield Park nestled between Kings Cross and Caledonian Road. As you enter the Castle grounds you will find yourself transported out of the city and into a nature-filled wonderland with hidden swings and secret places to climb and explore.
Crumbles Castle provides an exciting and safe space for children to really jump, climb, run and enjoy playing out, meet neighbours and friends and explore the world of their imagination.
Islington Play Association has worked closely with Islington Council to extend the playground and to adapt an empty building on the park into a welcoming space for young people that now houses offices and a play space.
History:
The Crumbles’ was the name given to the local Beaconsfield Buildings which were regarded as the worst slums in Islington and demolished in 1971. Soon after, the Bemerton Adventure Playground Committee asked architecture students from Regent Street Polytechnic to design what we know today as Crumbles Castle. Cobbles from the old buried courtyards of Crumbles’ tenements and the market site on York Way can be found in the tower and walls of the castle. Local children and their parents helped build the castle between 1968 and 1971; it was recognised that ‘building’ was an extension of the children’s play throughout that time. Crumbles Castle Adventure Playground has welcomed generations of Islington’s children to play.
