Description
Fairlop Waters Country Park is part of the larger Fairlop Plain. The famous Fairlop Oak was reputedly the largest tree in Hainault Forest, the site of a famous fair held on the first Friday in July until c1892 although the oak itself had been blown down. The open ground was created when part of The King's Wood was cleared in 1853 and divided by the Crown into three farms. Part of Forest Farm became a WWI balloon station, which may have saved it from development, and Hainault Farm had an RFC landing ground. In 1938 part of the land was sold to the Corporation of London who had plans drawn up to build City Airport here. In WWII it became RAF Fairlop, after which it was sold to Ilford Borough Council and used for gravel extraction. Gravel pits were flooded to create lakes and it was then opened as a country park and golf course. There are now 3 lakes, one of which is used for boating.
Practical Information
| Site location | Forest Road |
|---|---|
| Postcode | IG6 |
| What3Words | ///income.wiring.lung |
| Type of Site | Public Park |
| Borough | Redbridge |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted to most of site |
| Facilities | 9 and 18 hole golf courses and floodlit driving range, angling lake, water sports, boulder park, remote controlled car track, children's play area, café |
| Public Transport | Tube: Barkingside, Fairlop (Central). Rail: Ilford. Bus: 66, 150, 167, 169, 247, 275, 296, 396, 462. |
| Research Updated | 1 September 2010 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ453906 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | LB Redbridge |
| Site Management | Nature Conservation Team |
| Dates | mid C20th |
| 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 | Redbridge |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Borough Importance I |
| Green Belt | Yes |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Heritage Land |
Gallery
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Nearby parks and gardens
Dr Barnardo's Village Home for Girls was founded here in 1875, built on part of the estate of Mossford Lodge where Dr Barnardo and his wife Syrie set up home in 1875. Barnardo had the entirely new idea of providing individual 'cottages' for destitute girls of different ages, each supervised by a house mother. The planned community was built around a series of village greens and at one time was home to over 1,000 girls on a site of 60 acres, with schools, a children's church and other facilities; boys were admitted in the 1930s. Some of the first cottages were named after flowers and plants, and the children undertook gardening duties. Dr Barnardo was buried here in 1905, his large memorial located in the grounds. In 1991 the village officially closed as a children's home, and the site is much reduced today although part of the original greens survive. Among fine trees are Scots pines and oak, garden areas include roses and ornamental shrub, and there are 3 Victorian fountains.
Aldborough Hatch was once part of the lands of Barking Abbey, later owned by the Crown. The need for a new parish arose when the hamlet's population expanded following deforestation of the Crown lands in Hainault Forest, permitted under an Act of Parliament in 1851. The Crown provided the land for a church, with funding provided by the Government and an appeal to wealthy local landowners. A small chapel attached to Aldborough House had existed since at least the C18th and was used as a chapel-at-ease until St Peter's Church was built in 1862/3. Portland Stone from the old Westminster Bridge was used in the church construction. The church and its peaceful churchyard retains its rural aspect, entered through a timber lych gate. To mark the new Millennium, a Memorial Wall was built in the south-west corner of the Garden of Remembrance.
Barkingside was part of the municipal borough of Ilford, which once lay within the large estate lands belonging to Barking Abbey. In the 1880s the hamlet consisted of a few houses and cottages, the church, public houses and the charitable institution of Dr Barnardo, but even into the 1920s the area was quite rural. Barkingside Recreation Ground dates from the early C20th. Near the entrance on Cranbrook Road is a drinking fountain presented in 1906 by Cllr W P Griggs, JP and Chairman of Ilford UDC's Parks Committee.