Windrush Square

The name ‘Windrush’ commemorates the arrival of the MV Empire Windrush, which docked at Tilbury from Jamaica on 22 June 1948, carrying 492 migrants and, for many, symbolises the beginnings of modern British multicultural society. The Square originally comprised two separate open spaces, ‘Windrush Square’ and ‘Tate Library Gardens’. The latter site was an open space provided by the widow of the famous industrialist and philanthropist Sir Henry Tate, who also helped found the adjacent Brixton Tate Library. However, funding was secured to bring these two sites together as a central plaza to serve the wider needs of Brixton’s communities, this work was finally completed in 2010.