Stepney City Farm is a city farm in Stepney, London, England. It is situated on Stepney Way with its entrance on the roundabout leading onto Stepney High Street and Belgrave Street towards Limehouse. The land is owned by Tower Hamlets Council through a trust, “The King George’s Fields Trust” chaired by the Mayor of Tower Hamlets (currently John Biggs)
The farm was founded in 1979 by Lynne Bennett; at that time it was called Stepping Stones. Local residents, schools, churches and community groups were consulted and wasteland left after a World War II bomb destroyed the Stepney Congregational Church in 1941 was secured for the farm’s use. The site has been through several incarnations since the 17th century. Worcester house (locally known as King John’s Palace) was an original building from which ruins remain onsite, and the remains of the old Sunday school and the Stepney meeting house can be seen.
Known as the Stepping Stones Farm up until 2009 under the management of Lynne Bennett, the 4.2-acre. From 2009 – 2012 the farm was technically the legal and financial responsibility of Tower Hamlets Council but is now run by a charity, “Stepney City Farm Ltd”, with a 10-year lease as from 2012 (registered in June 2010 as Charity Number 1136448). The most recently published accounts are from financial year 2012_13 as on the Charity Commission’s website. The farm also runs workshops in rural crafts through its resident artisans; blacksmith, woodworker and potter. In 2011, the farm created an 800 square metre community garden and added low-cost growing boxes for community use.
On 18 May 2013 a cafe and shop selling farm-reared meat and eggs as well as vegetables grown on-site was opened. It is open to the public six days a week. There is a Farmers’ Market every Saturday. It is the home of The Green Wood Guild, a green wood and traditional woodworking craft workshop run by Barn the Spoon.