Description

Bridgehouse Meadows is a public park that incorporates a separate nature reserve. New Cross is deficient in accessible wildlife sites so Bridgehouse Meadows provides a welcome opportunity to enjoy a variety of wildflowers and a walk through open grassy areas skirting the railway line, with large areas suitable for dog walking. The path snakes around some hills and provides distant view of City buildings and there is even a glimpse of Millwall Football Club's stadium (The Den) on the horizon.  The hills are most likely the result of the banking that remains from the site's previous use as the New Cross Greyhound and Speedway Stadium. This stadium was in use from c.1900-1969. Though once significant for the local community it was demolished in 1975, leaving the open site that is enjoyed today. In 2010/11 when TFL closed access to the meadows and used them as their headquarters (albeit temporarily) there were online protests. Under a new housing scheme approved by Lewisham Council in January 2022 'improvements to the existing park at Bridgehouse Meadows' are now projected for the future.

Practical Information

Previously known as New Cross Greyhound and Speedway Stadium
Site location Access from Surrey Canal Road, Winslade Estate, Hornshay Street, John Williams Close
Postcode SE14 5RY
What3Words ///change.amber.hogs
Type of Site Public Park
Borough Lewisham
Open to Public Yes
Opening Times unrestricted
Public Transport London Overground/Rail: New Cross Gate; South Bermondsey, Queens Road (Southern Rail)
Research Updated 31 August 2022
Last Updated 18 October 2026

Full description

New Cross as a general area was  a crossroads  on the Kent and Surrey border. In the C15th it was still heavily wooded. One major influence in the development of the area was that of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers - an ancient London merchant guild associated with the silk and velvet trades. The Company built and leased substantial houses to its members, having acquired much of the land in 1614 as a charitable endowment. The company developed the land ever more intensively after the coming of the railways in the mid C19th and many of the large Victorian houses were subdivided. In the 1970s many houses were replaced by council estates and by the 15 acre Fordham Park (q.v.). 

 

Further Information

Grid Reference TQ355777
Size in hectares 27.952
Site Ownership LB Lewisham
Site Management Glendale Grounds Management
Dates 1975
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 Lewisham
In Conservation Area No
Tree Preservation Order No
Nature Conservation Area No
Green Belt No
Metropolitan Open Land No
Special Policy Area Area of Archaeological Priority
Other LA Designation Public Open Land; Green Corridor (part of site)

Gallery

Bridgehouse Meadows, February 2022. Photograph Rosanna Cavallo
Bridgehouse Meadows: One end of the snaking path showing the Den, February 2022. Photograph Rosanna Cavallo
Bridgehouse Meadows: Dog Walking, February 2022. Photograph Rosanna
Bridgehouse Meadows Nature Reserve, February 2022. Photograph Rosanna Cavallo
Bridgehouse Meadows: Distant city skyline, February 2022. Photograph Rosanna Cavallo
Bridgehouse Meadows: Far end of path, February 2022. Photograph Rosanna Cavallo
Bridgehouse Meadows: Dog walking, February 2022. Photograph Rosanna Cavallo
Bridgehouse Meadows: A well-used cut through, February 2022. Photograph Rosanna Cavallo
Bridgehouse Meadows: Autumnal buddleia, 2022. Photograph Rosanna Cavallo
Bridgehouse Meadows: Far end of path, February 2022. Photograph Rosanna Cavallo

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Nearby parks and gardens

  • Southwark
  • 0.4 miles away

Varcoe Road Recreation Ground

The site was purchased by Camberwell Borough Council in 1905 for a sum of £2,000 and Varcoe Road Recreation Ground was opened to the public in 1906. It is protected by the London Squares and Enclosures (Preservation) Act of 1906. Now privately owned, it is a scrubby area with grass, paths and some trees.
  • Lewisham
  • 0.4 miles away

Eckington Gardens

Eckington Gardens was the name of a residential street in an area that suffered bomb damage in WWII and later declared as unfit and in an uninhabitable state by LB Lewisham in the 1970s. Site clearance was undertaken, with part laid out for a park. Eckington Gardens opened in 1981, originally called Eckington Gardens Park.
  • Lewisham
  • 0.4 miles away

Folkestone Gardens

Folkestone Gardens was created in the 1970s on the site of war-damaged housing, and is surrounded by railway lines. The Grand Surrey Canal used to run past the northern end of the park from Camberwell to the Surrey Docks; it was filled in in 1972, having closed the previous year. On undulating ground, the park has grass, woodland areas, a belt of Lombardy poplars along the edge, and a group of sycamores in the centre. In the north-west is a large pond with an island with weeping willow. Among facilities here is a plaza-style skate park and park cafe, located in what was once the park's public toilets.
Folkestone Gardens: Skate Park to rear, June 2024. Photograph Sally Williams