Description
Chelsfield Recreation Ground is a small grassed area with playground within the village of Chelsfield dating from at least the C19th. The 1st edition OS map of 1871 shows the area as open space. In the 1838 tithe map this is part of a meadow called Gibbs Lane, owned and occupied by the Rector, the Revd Dr John Edward Tarleton, whose rectory was Chelsfield House. To the south, across Bucks Cross Road, is a larger open space adjacent to the village hall, with two sports pavilions and a large area used by the cricket club and for the village fair. This site almost corresponds to Little East Field on the 1838 Tithe Map, which again was in the ownership and occupation of the Rector. It lies immediately to the west of Great East Field (also the Rector's), which is now largely occupied by the village allotments. Both these fields are shown in arable use in 1838.
Practical Information
| Site location | Bucks Cross Road/ Skibbs Lane Chelsfield, Orpington |
|---|---|
| Postcode | BR6 6EN |
| What3Words | ///suffer.burn.lions |
| Type of Site | Public Park |
| Borough | Bromley |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Facilities | Children’s play area |
| Public Transport | Rail: Knockholt, Chelsfield. Bus R3. |
| Research Updated | 1 December 2006 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The park is now managed by idverde UK, which in June 2015 was contracted by Bromley Council for the management of the borough's parks, green spaces and countryside service, a relationship that was extended in April 2019 for a further 16 years.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ484640 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | LB Bromley |
| Site Management | idverde |
| Dates | C19th |
| 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 | Bromley |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Chelsfield Village |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | Yes |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
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
Chelsfield House is now in use as Chelsfield Park Hospital within BMI Healthcare and retains some ornamental gardens with lawns, mature and semi-mature trees. There has been a house on the site since at least the late C18th and it was once the large Rectory owned by Revd Dr John Edward Tarleton, Rector of St Martin of Tours from 1834. The house was extensively remodelled from the 1890s onwards by the banker Edward Norman, whose family lived there until World War II. OS maps in 1900 and 1931 show Chelsfield House with surrounding grounds,
The old village of Chelsfield and its parish church of St Martin of Tours have existed here since at least the C12th. The church is now somewhat isolated from the village following the building of the Orpington Bypass in the 1920s. The churchyard has been used for burial for some 900 years with burial records existing from the C16th. Most burials did not have burial markers and the earliest surviving gravestones are late C18th.
The manors of Chelsfield and Goddington were combined and passed to the Haddon family in the C16th. In the late C19th a Major Hallet rebuilt the mansion. Goddington House remained in private hands when the site of the park was sold to Goddington Council in 1931. Goddington Park consists of the Lower Park and the Upper Park and has remnants of C19th parkland trees.