STENTON THOMAS COVINGTON (1856–1935): CONSERVATIONIST AND BENEFACTOR
From the early 1900s to the mid-1930s, Stenton Covington benefited South London through vigilant protection of its environment. Largely through his efforts, people can still enjoy the peace and beauty of The Rookery and Norwood Grove pleasure gardens.
Born on 4 November 1856 to Sarah and Thomas Covington, he grew up at 5 Grecian Cottages, Crown Hill. After private tuition and King’s College School, London, he spent more than 50 years in fire insurance, becoming a director of the Westminster Fire Office. He travelled widely and in 1903 married local resident Annie Christina Bolgen Gibbs. Despite his business success, he is best remembered for his private pursuits.
His interest in conservation began at 17 and lasted throughout his life. Although he and Annie had no children, he strongly defended children’s playgrounds. He saved Knights Hill playground from development and, after noticing plans for a garage while travelling through Kennington in the 1930s, helped turn the site—Prince’s Square—into a playground.
After marrying, the couple moved into The Lodge on Gibson’s Hill, now a private home for elderly men. The house contained many objets d’art, while its garden held rare plants, pigeons and a bird sanctuary with unusual duck breeds. Living beside a still-rural area, Covington closely watched developers. When The Rookery and Wellfield estates were offered for development in 1910, a residents’ committee he formed raised £3,000 and persuaded the council to buy The Rookery as public gardens. Opened in 1913, their layout has changed little and they are maintained by the London Borough of Lambeth.
His greatest triumph came in the mid-1920s, when he helped stop more than 100 houses being built between Streatham Common and Norbury, preserving the area’s character. The creation of Norwood Grove, including the White House, is described in the Streatham Society Book available to purchase
In 1938 Croydon Council proposed demolishing the White House on economic grounds, but public opposition halted the plan. The council also retained the house because it accommodated two resident gardeners, contained the Holman bird collection in its Orangery and supported two bowling greens under construction. It approved £3,000–£4,000 for repairs. Threatened again in the early 1980s, the house and park were defended by local residents, the Friends of the Grove and the Norwood and Streatham societies. Their future use remained under consideration.
Covington’s work extended beyond his neighbourhood. From 1898, as an executive committee member of the Society for the Preservation of Commons, Open Spaces and Footpaths, he served on committees acquiring land for Brockwell, Ruskin and Norwood parks, One Tree Hill and other open spaces. He also owned Steepholme in Fowey, Cornwall. In 1919, learning that bungalows were planned on St Catherine’s Headland, he bought the land and gave it to the National Trust as a First World War memorial.
He later paid half the cost of adjoining woods and gardens, with Fowey Council funding the remainder. The woods became Covington Woods, and he was made a Freeman of Fowey in 1929. He also helped protect Bolt Head, Tintagel Cliff and Lizard Common.
Abroad, he helped preserve the site below the Heights of Abraham, Quebec, where General Wolfe landed before defeating General Montcalm. Shortly before his death in November 1935, he unsuccessfully tried to preserve the Royal Circus, Norwood, as a playground.
In private life, Covington cared for his widowed sister’s daughters and funded their education. Cecily attended the Royal College of Music and became a music teacher. Margaret, later Mrs Kingsley Williams, remained involved in efforts to protect Norwood Grove. Margaret recalled that he paid for her 1926 wedding and trousseau in India, and that The Lodge’s billiard table was usually covered with maps and papers about open spaces.
She remembered him as quiet and retiring, while Annie was lively. Covington died in 1935 aged 79 after a short illness; Annie survived him by less than two years. His funeral cortege passed The Rookery on its way to Immanuel Church, Streatham Common, where he had been baptised. His name endures in Covington Way and Covington Gardens. The road’s construction was enabled by extending The Rookery, where an original estate oak still stands.
His conservation affiliations included:
Metropolitan Gardens Association — Vice-Chairman
Council for the Preservation of Rural England
Council of the National Trust
Commons and Open Spaces Preservation Society
Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
Member of the Japan Society
