This week, the Recorder is looking back at the history of Harrow Lodge Park in Hornchurch – the borough’s largest urban park, encompassing 130 acres.
Once part of the manor of Maylands Green and Wybridge, the park was developed for public use in the 1900s and eventually bought by Hornchurch Urban District Council in 1936.
At the time, the council paid £16,250 for 42 acres of land, with extra acres later donated by Costain – the developer behind the Elm Park Garden City development – in 1937.
A photo of the lakes at Harrow Lodge Park dating back to the 1980s (Image: Havering Libraries-Local Studies)
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Although an oak fence was built around the park and the football pitches were in use by the late 1930s, many of the early plans for the park were disrupted by the Second World War.
According to Havering Council, none of the paths were laid, and one field had been sown with grass seed by the time the war started.
During this period, 60 acres of the park was used for intensive food production – but there were still some developments for leisure activities.
A paddling pool was built in 1944 as part of the government’s Holidays at Home campaign, which remained popular in the years after.
Once a portion of land stopped being used for food production in 1947, this was converted into two cricket pitches.
New playground equipment followed in 1951, an 18-hole mini golf course in 1952 and a boating lake between 1954 and 1956.
Eventually, the park was big enough for the construction of Hornchurch Swimming Pool, which officially opened in 1956 – with a swim costing nine pence for a child.
The pool was later redeveloped at Hornchurch Sports Centre in 1987, and today is called Harrow Lodge Leisure Centre.
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A “major” development in Harrow Lodge Park’s history, according to Havering Libraries, was the Garden for the Blind, which opened in July 1961.
The garden featured heavily-scented shrubs and flowers, wider pathways and a dolphin fountain in the centre to create sound for visitors.
Havering Libraries said the garden “declined over time”, but was later revived by volunteers as the Secret Garden.
More recently, a major project to restore the lakes at the park and plant a new wildflower meadow was completed in February 2023.
