Chislehurst and Walden Recreation Grounds and Whyte’s Woodland

The name Chislehurst derives from the Anglo-Saxon 'Ciselhyrst', meaning 'wood on the stony hill'. The Chislehurst Tithe Map of 1844 shows what is now Chislehurst Recreation Ground as a field owned by Lord of the Manor, Lord Sydney, who was the principal landowner in Chislehurst at the time. By the early C20th the Sydney estate lands had been inherited by Robert Marsham-Townshend, who began to sell off outlying parts of his estate. This was at a time when much of the farmland in the area was increasingly being sold off for housing. At some time between 1908 and 1928 the land that became Chislehurst Recreation Ground was acquired for use as a recreation ground. Walden Recreation Ground was named after Viscount Walden, 9th Marquess of Tweeddale who was born in Edinburgh but came to live in the area. The Whyte family of Bromley also lived nearby and were well-known musicians and singers who travelled extensively.

What became known as Whyte's Woodland was once part of the ancient Red Hill Wood but was given a number of names over the years, including Storth Oaks. At some time the Storth Oaks woodland became linked with an C18th house built by Lord Sydney called The Briars in Watts Lane where the Misses Whyte lived in the C20th. On 7 October 1938 Miss Agnes Kay Whyte conveyed to the Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban District Council as a gift the wooded area adjacent to the recreation ground, thereby substantially increasing the area available for public recreation. Miss Whyte stipulated that the woodland was 'to be used for the purposes of Pleasure Walks and Arbours for the benefit of persons residing in the said Urban District or in the neighbourhood and for no other purpose'. A designated part of the woodland was to be preserved as a bird sanctuary, fenced on all sides, with no entrance to the general public. At that time land adjacent to the woodland owned by Chislehurst Athletic Association known as Walden Recreation Ground was also sold to the UDC. The outbreak of WWII prevented preparation of the wood for public access and it was not opened until August 1948, when it was named Whyte's Woodland after the donor. The bird sanctuary remains in the woods today.

By 1959 Chislehurst Recreation Ground had been extended by a small area of land in the south-west corner of the site. At one time in the 1960s there was an aviary in the park and in addition to the children's playground there were facilities for cricket, tennis and football. Today it is a largely level area of open space almost entirely surrounded by residential housing. A tarmac path leads between houses in Walden Road to the children’s playground and park. An area of the grass near this entrance is left uncut for most of the year and there are some mature trees here. Tarmac paths surround a central area of mown grass, with seats placed at intervals along the path. Whyte's Woodland to the north is semi-mature woodland through which the Green Chain Way runs to Elmstead Woods. A second entrance to the recreation ground is in Red Hill to the north-east, which leads past the library and tennis courts into the recreation ground.

In 2010 the Friends of Chislehurst and Walden Recreation Grounds was set up to improve facilities and maintenance of the park. Woodland management, bulb planting and litter collection are regularly undertaken and events and activities are held. In December 2009 the Chislehurst Society donated £50,000 towards a new children's playground.

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.