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Beckenham Cemetery opened in 1876 and originally had two Gothic-style chapels, only one of which survived bombing in WWII. This is now the chapel for Beckenham Crematorium, which established in 1956. An area of artificial rockwork with cascades and pools is located behind the chapel to the west. The cemetery retains its stone gate piers, wrought iron gates and iron boundary railings and has a good collection of monuments, including that of cricketer W.G. Grace and Frederick Wolseley, inventor with Herbert Austin of the Wolseley car.
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Prior to 1857 the land here was open countryside owned by the Cator family. Adjacent to the parish church, the site of Beckenham Green was built over between 1857-90 when the railway arrived; one of the former buildings on the site was the Railway Hotel. In July 1944 major bomb damage was caused to the buildings and the site was cleared in 1946. It remained undeveloped until 1967, when it was grassed with a part dedicated for use by pupils of the adjacent school. In 2005 this area of public open space was renamed Beckenham Green. A small stage was erected in November 2007 for hosting local events.
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Beckenham Manor has mediaeval origins; the estate passed through various owners, some with royal connections. For a time divided, by the C17th the whole estate was owned by Walter St John in whose family it remained until 1773 when John Cator of Bromley bought the manorial rights. Cator built Beckenham Place Mansion, near which is the Stable Block, and behind it the walled garden with cottage. Cator was son-in-law of Peter Collinson, who approved his planting and may have influenced his introduction of exotic trees and the lake. There are reputedly 60 species of tree on the estate and areas of ancient woodland. The estate was purchased by the LCC in 1927 and the public park opened in 1929. The golf course, established in 1908, opened to the public in 1933 as the first public golf course; the Mansion becoming the clubhouse; much of the land had been used for farming before the golf course was laid out. The park retains much of the form of a landscape park in terms of plantations, but parkland standards are reduced and blurred by golf course planting. The golf course closed in 2016.
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Becondale Road Open Space is a triangular woodland garden surrounded by a cul-de-sac of Victorian houses built by Isaiah Hitchcock on land that was once part of Norwood Common. The small central garden was initially the responsibility of the lessee and later became that of Lambeth Borough Council.
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Becontree Heath, probably the meeting place of the Saxon Hundred Court, was ancient commonland, and the area remained rural until the 1920s. Although much is since built over, some remains as open space. In 1931 a portion of the land was transferred to Dagenham UDC by Special Act of Parliament, extinguishing common rights, and was levelled, drained and planted for public recreation, opening as Central Park. The land north of Wood Lane was largely used for allotment gardens in the C20th, but by 1971 Wantz Boating Lake had been created to the south. The open land today is used for school playing fields, children's recreational facilities and a golf club, which uses the former boating lake as an Aqua driving range, the only one of its kind.
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The site includes Beddington Park and The Grange, once part of the substantial estate owned from the C14th by the influential Carew family, whose connection with Beddington continued for 4 centuries. Beddington Park was part of the deer park attached to Carew Manor. In the C16th Sir Francis Carew laid out elaborate gardens, fragments of which remain. The estate lands were being sold off for housing development from the late 1860s, and Beddington & Wallington UDC purchased land between 1904-27, part of which became the public park. The Carew Manor House is now Carew Manor School. In 1935 the UDC acquired The Grange and its ornamental gardens, laid out by Alfred Smee from 1850. The lake, originally a mill pond, and trees planted by Smee remain today.
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St Mary's Burial Ground was opened at a service on 6 May 1876, when more space was needed for the parish burials of St Mary's East Bedfont. The land was previously in agricultural use, known as Little Field. In 1935 adjacent land was conveyed to the local Burial Board for Bedfont Cemetery, which was consecrated in July 1941. St Mary's Burial Ground is much overgrown and wooded with mown paths cutting through the undergrowth, with a few tombs visible. The lych-gate was damaged in 1989 and replaced in 1990/2. The cemetery has tarmac paths and an avenue of lime trees along the path, with hawthorn hedging, some ornamental trees and a small brick shelter. It adjoins Bedfont Lakes Country Park.
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Bedfont was a small isolated hamlet dating back to medieval times, surrounded by Hounslow Heath. Bedfont Green fronts the medieval church of St Mary the Virgin and forms the setting of Burlington House, to the south of which there was once a pond. It was formerly more tree-covered, particularly with horse chestnuts but many were lost in the hurricanes of 1987. Fairgrounds used to be held here, particularly during Ascot Week as the route to the racetrack was through the village.
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Although Bedfont Lakes Country Park opened as a new park in 1995, laid out on a former contaminated landfill site, in the 1890s the area was part of a large orchard that supplied Covent Garden. Part of the area was also used for gravel extraction from the 1860s until the 1950s. An oak tree was planted on 5 November 1996 near Motte Lake to the north of the park to commemorate it being handed over to LB Hounslow by Hanover Property Unit Trust and Rutland Management Ltd.
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The Bedfont area remained rural until the mid C20th and had formerly been used for agriculture and market gardening, with numerous cherry orchards here. From the 1950s council housing began to be developed over the land. Bedfont Recreation Ground was laid out by the 1930s with surrounding land used for allotments and orchards. By 1960 there were facilities for football, cricket, bowls and tennis, with a paddling pool and playground. It has been the ground for Bedfont Football Club, who later leased the ground, renovating the pavilion and improving its facilities.
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Bedford Park is described as the first Garden Suburb, the early speculatively-built estate becoming a model and showpiece, successful in attracting the 'aesthetic middle classes' and artists. In 1875 Jonathan Carr purchased 24 acres north of Turnham Green, taking the name for his estate from a late C18th house. First plans were drawn up by E W Godwin, but in 1877 Norman Shaw became estate architect and was responsible for creating the architectural character of the suburb. Wherever possible existing trees were kept and the garden character was enhanced by many roads being closed by views of trees. From 1880, Shaw no longer involved, a third phase of building began on additional land acquired by Carr. By 1883 there were 490 houses on 113 acres, the church of St Michael and All Angels, the Tabard Inn, a School of Art and a Club. In 1963 the Bedford Park Society was formed to preserve the estate, which was designated a Conservation Area in 1969.
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Bedford Park is described as the first Garden Suburb, the early speculatively-built estate becoming a model and showpiece, successful in attracting the 'aesthetic middle classes' and artists. In 1875 Jonathan Carr purchased 24 acres north of Turnham Green, taking the name for his estate from a late C18th house. First plans were drawn up by E W Godwin, but in 1877 Norman Shaw became estate architect and was responsible for creating the architectural character of the suburb. Wherever possible existing trees were kept and the garden character was enhanced by many roads being closed by views of trees. From 1880, Shaw no longer involved, a third phase of building began on additional land acquired by Carr. By 1883 there were 490 houses on 113 acres, the church of St Michael and All Angels, the Tabard Inn, a School of Art and a Club. In 1963 the Bedford Park Society was formed to preserve the estate, which was designated a Conservation Area in 1969.