Description
Farmland up to the C20th, Abbey Hill Park became public open space between the 2 World Wars as the area was developed for housing. It is named from a property called Abbeyhill to the north shown on old maps surrounded by fields. The park is bounded to the south by South East Railways Dartford Loop line, from which it is screened by trees.The entrance from Canterbury Avenue is lined with shrubs and the park consists of an area of level grassland with a small circular area left unmown in summer. Since 2007 a former allotment site that is now Millennium woodland has been added to the park.
Practical Information
| Site location | Canterbury Avenue, Sidcup |
|---|---|
| Postcode | DA15 9AF |
| What3Words | ///answer.accent.tricky |
| Type of Site | Public Park |
| Borough | Bexley |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | 8am - dusk |
| Facilities | Football pitch |
| Public Transport | Rail: Sidcup. Bus: 229 |
| Research Updated | 1 February 2011 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ469727 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 2.83 |
| Site Ownership | LB Bexley |
| Site Management | Parks & Open Spaces |
| Dates | 1920s/30s |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Bexley |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Urban Open Space |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
The land, part farmland and part woodland, was donated by Lord and Lady Waring in 1929 to provide a public park and playing field. It opened as Waring Park in May 1931. It was laid out with a raised terrace on the southern boundary with a number of shelters, since demolished as a result of vandalism in recent years. An area of woodland was retained and laid out with paths, and other areas were planted with flowers, shrubs and trees.
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
The former Lamorbey estate lands now comprise a mix of usage: a public park, a private golf course, institutional grounds and schools with their playing fields. The first recorded owner was Thomas Sparrow or Lamienby, Deputy Reeve of the Manor of Bexley in 1495. His daughter inherited the estate and with her husband James Goldwell built a house called Lamienby-Goldwell. The grounds appear to have first been formally laid out in the mid-C18th when the estate was owned by Wllliam Steele. Between 1761 and 1783 the estate was for a short time divided. It remained in private ownership until 1910 when the house became a hotel, remaining as such until it was purchased in 1947 by Kent Education Committee. The Glades was opened as a public park in 1948.
The former Lamorbey estate lands now comprise a mix of usage: a public park, a private golf course, institutional grounds and schools with their playing fields. The first recorded owner was Thomas Sparrow or Lamienby, Deputy Reeve of the Manor of Bexley in 1495. His daughter inherited the estate and with her husband James Goldwell built a house called Lamienby-Goldwell. The grounds appear to have first been formally laid out in the mid-C18th when the estate was owned by Wllliam Steele. Between 1761 and 1783 the estate was for a short time divided. It remained in private ownership until 1910 when the house became a hotel, remaining as such until it was purchased in 1947 by Kent Education Committee. The Glades was opened as a public park in 1948.
!['Sidcup Golf Course and Lamorby [sic] Hotel from the Air', postcard c.1930. Courtesy Bexley Local Studies & Archive Centre](https://secure.londongardenstrust.org/inventory/images/historic/BEX030-H1-hist.jpg)
Sidcup Cemetery opened in 1912, designed around a straight axial drive to a turning circle. The cemetery has no chapel but there is an interesting lodge decorated with burnt brick fragments. The planting is not profuse but includes Cedars and Araucaria as well as yew, and a hawthorn walk. The turning circle has three paths leading off asymmetrically, and across the north-east angle of the site there is a line of pollard limes. There are gardens of remembrance, and a new section of the cemetery was opened in Spring 2003.
