This week, the Recorder is looking back at the history of Hornchurch Country Park: a 257-acre green space “famous” for its fascinating military background.
The northern part of the park was once Suttons Farm, part of the Manor of Suttons, while the southern part was within Dover’s Manor and later became Albyns Farm – with the old farm buildings still there today.
Its military use began during the First World War, when the War Ministry started to search the countryside for potential airfields close to London and the Thames.
Lt Robinson and his fellow pilots Wulstan Tempest and Frederick Sowrey at RFC Suttons Farm in 1916 (Image: Havering Libraries-Local Studies)
Suttons Farm was chosen in 1915 and opened as RFC Suttons Farm on October 3, the base for the precursor to the Royal Air Force (RAF), the Royal Flying Corps.
READ MORE: Cottons Park, Romford history during Second World War
It wasn’t until the following year in September 1916, that the base had a “famous” success, according to Havering Council.
Lieutenant William Leefe Robinson took off from RFC Suttons Farm and was able to shoot down an attacking Airship SL11, which went up in flames when it crashed near Cuffley in Hertfordshire.
It was the first aircraft to be downed over British soil, according to Havering Libraries, and Lieutenant Robinson was later awarded the Victoria Cross for his efforts.
Between the wars, the land briefly returned to agricultural use – but in the 1920s the site was once again looked at by the military.
It was renamed to RAF Hornchurch shortly after it opened as an RAF base in 1928, and was later designated as a fighter station during the Second World War.
This meant it was mainly equipped with Spitfires and subsequently played a major role as a front line station during the Battle of Britain.
Where the main car park currently is at Squadrons Approach, there was once an aircraft dispersal bay used to protect Spitfires and their ground crews.
After the war, the airfield remained open but was instead used for training and as a selection centre.
READ MORE: Harrow Lodge Park: history of Havering’s largest open space
Eventually it closed in April 1962, as the RAF was slowly cut back, and was sold for gravel extraction in the 1970s.
Once the quarrying was finished in 1980, the site was landfilled and turned into Hornchurch Country Park.
The latest extension to the park came in 2006, when the land owned by the NHS at the top of the site was given to Havering Council in return for land in Romford used to build Queen’s Hospital.
