Description
Abbey Wood Open Space is an area of grassland and woods, so called for being in the ownership of Barking Abbey in medieval times. There was once a path from the Parsonage continuing by the Ingrebourne River to Abbey Wood, across Berwick Ponds, ending at Abbey Cottages. Reputedly in one of the plague years bodies were brought upriver by barge from Barking Abbey along the Thames to the Abbey lands and dumped in the marshes.
Practical Information
| Site location | Abbey Wood Lane, Rainham |
|---|---|
| Postcode | RM13 |
| What3Words | ///bottom.excuse.solo |
| Type of Site | Public Open Land |
| Borough | Havering |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Public Transport | Rail: Rainham |
| Research Updated | 1 June 2007 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Abbey Wood Open Space is an area of grassland and woods within the Ingrebourne Valley that marks the course of the Ingrebourne River through Havering. The wood is so called for being in the former ownership of Barking Abbey (q.v.) in medieval times. The site abuts Berwick Ponds to the east, which were part of the once extensive estate of Berwick Manor dating back to the Domesday Book of 1086. The current C17th manor house in Berwick Pond Road is likely to have been a lodge to an older manor house, which may have stood on a different site. The position of the manor houses on the estate appear to have changed over the years. From the C13th or earlier the manor was owned by the Knights Templar until the order was suppressed in 1308, then transferred to the Knights Hospitallers until 1540, following which the estate reverted to the monarchy on the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII. Master of the Rolls Sir Robert Southwell then held the manor, already owning other estates in the area. By the early C18th the Berwick estate extended from Hacton Lane in the north to Rainham village in the south, and Moor Hall Farm in the east to the open land of the Ingrebourne Valley in the west. The land was eventually broken up and sold in lots as the area developed.
The original estate had two lodges, North Lodge, which became known as Rainham Lodge and was demolished in 1960, and South Lodge or Berwick House, which became known as Berwick Manor, later becoming a country club. Berwick Ponds are particularly important for nature conservation, with part of the site designated SSSI and part declared as a Local Nature Reserve in 2006. There was once a footpath from the Parsonage (at Upminster?) continuing alongside the Ingrebourne River to Abbey Wood, across Berwick Ponds, and ending at Abbey Cottages. In one of the plague years bodies were reputedly brought upriver by barge from Barking Abbey along the Thames to the Abbey lands and dumped in the marshes.
The site is known for adders today. It is wooded at the western end with access along one side of Berwick Ponds and in the eastern end there are mature thorn bushes. Part of the ground has been levelled and seeded as a football pitch, used by Rainham Oriel Football Club.
The original estate had two lodges, North Lodge, which became known as Rainham Lodge and was demolished in 1960, and South Lodge or Berwick House, which became known as Berwick Manor, later becoming a country club. Berwick Ponds are particularly important for nature conservation, with part of the site designated SSSI and part declared as a Local Nature Reserve in 2006. There was once a footpath from the Parsonage (at Upminster?) continuing alongside the Ingrebourne River to Abbey Wood, across Berwick Ponds, and ending at Abbey Cottages. In one of the plague years bodies were reputedly brought upriver by barge from Barking Abbey along the Thames to the Abbey lands and dumped in the marshes.
The site is known for adders today. It is wooded at the western end with access along one side of Berwick Ponds and in the eastern end there are mature thorn bushes. Part of the ground has been levelled and seeded as a football pitch, used by Rainham Oriel Football Club.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ541836 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 3.5 |
| Site Ownership | LB Havering |
| Site Management | Parks and Open Spaces |
| 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 | Havering |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - part in Ingrebourne Valley: Met Importance |
| Green Belt | Yes |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes |
| Other LA Designation | Local Park; within Thames Chase Community Forest. |
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
Rainham Cemetery was opened in 1902, the first burial taking place in that year. There is a small cemetery chapel with a glass screen, railings. Even in the 1920s the surrounding area was entirely undeveloped and the cemetery was surrounded by fields. Upminster Road North, however, is marked as a route on earlier maps.
This area of Rainham was still largely fields in the 1930s when the Federation of Synagogues established its Jewish Cemetery here in 1938, although the routes of both Upminster Road and Launders Lane were marked on earlier maps. The Federation had been set up in 1887, largely at the instigation of Samuel Montagu, wealthy banker, Liberal MP and philanthropist. By 1939 the cemetery was laid out with colonnaded prayer building and hall, approached by a drive from the main entrance on Upminster Road with a further drive from an entrance to the west. The area to the east was the first to be used for burial, laid out in a grid pattern of paths. Even into the C21st part of the land has remained rural in aspect.
The northern part of Hornchurch Country Park is on the site of Suttons Farm, once part of the medieval Manor of Suttons. The southern part was within Dovers Manor, later Albyns Farm. During WWI an airfield was created at Suttons Farm, leading to the development of RAF Hornchurch, and during WWII it was home to fighter aircraft. The airfield closed in 1962 but many remaining features can be seen along the Eastern Pathway. The area was re-landscaped as a country park in 1980 and is left to develop naturally; it is bordered to the east by the Ingrebourne River.