Description
George Green is a remnant of village green within Epping Forest and was once part of the grounds of Wanstead House (Wanstead Park). In the late C19th a small triangular drinking fountain was erected by the parishioners of Wanstead to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee (1897), which has been moved a number of times as a result of road widening schemes. Today George Green is an open green space maintained by the Corporation of London's Conservators of Epping Forest, crossed by a single diagonal path and with a few trees, including three notable Spanish chestnuts (C17th-18th), ash and horse chestnuts.
Practical Information
| Site location | The Green, Wanstead |
|---|---|
| Postcode | E11 2NT |
| What3Words | ///stored.storm.herb |
| Type of Site | Public Open Land |
| Borough | Redbridge |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Public Transport | Tube: Wanstead (Central). Bus: 66, 101, 145, 308, W13, W14 |
| Research Updated | 1 August 2010 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The present area of George Green is a remnant of a village green within Epping Forest and was formerly part of the grounds of Wanstead House in Wanstead Park (q.v.). The site was enhanced in the late C19th with the addition of a drinking fountain erected by the parishioners of Wanstead to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, the 60th anniversary of her reign in (1897). The drinking fountain, an open 3-sided building with a medallion of the Queen on one gable, roofed with a circular spirelet and with a drinking fountain on one side and a horse trough on the road side, has been moved a number of times as a result of road widening schemes. Today George Green is an open green space maintained by the Corporation of London's Conservators of Epping Forest, crossed by a single diagonal path and having a few trees, including three notable sweet/Spanish chestnuts (C17th-18th), ash and horse chestnuts. The fallen trunk of an old oak reputedly from Wanstead Park remains on the Green. The 1897 drinking fountain is at the Eastern Avenue corner of the site, adjacent to Wanstead Station, and is now surrounded by granite setts in a circular design with two semi-circular low brick seats, themselves surrounded by a further circle of brick paving. This is part of the new landscaping scheme completed in 1999 when some of the Green was encroached as a result of the A12 road widening and new M11 Link Road, the cause of much protest which made the national news for many months. At the far corner of George Green, St Mary's Avenue links the Green and St Mary's Wanstead (q.v.), and is flanked by a double line of horse chestnuts, which were planted in 1897.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ406882 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | Conservators of Epping Forest/City of London Corporation |
| Site Management | Vision Redbridge Culture and Leisure Ltd |
| Dates | late C19th, C20th |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Drinking fountain; K6 telephone outside Wanstead station |
| 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 | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Wanstead Village |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Heritage Land; Local Open Space |
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
Christchurch Green Recreation Ground was formerly known as Spratthall Green. It surrounds Christ Church Wanstead, a small open parkland containing notable horse chestnuts, oak, ash, sycamore and sweet chestnut that possibly dated from the C17th/18th. It was laid out c.1900, a flat grassed area with a network of diagonal intersecting tarmaced paths, predominantly flanked by horse chestnut, with some planting of evergreens.
Christ Church Wanstead is a fine large church built by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1861, later enlarged and the ragstone tower and spire were added. It was built as a chapel-of-ease to Wanstead parish church of St Mary the Virgin. Surrounding the church is a wide hard-gravelled path, and the surrounding garden, which has no gravestones, is largely grass with some perimeter shrubs and trees. It is enclosed by wooden picket fencing, which separates it from Christchurch Green Recreation Ground.
St Mary's Wanstead has a late mediaeval churchyard, which was reconfigured in c.1788-90 when the present church was built. This classical building by Thomas Hardwick was built to form a dignified eyecatcher for one of the three great avenues radiating from Wanstead House. Of particular interest is the memorial to Joseph Wilton RA and his family of 1803 in the form of a Watcher's Box, from which watch was kept to forestall body snatchers, and which resembles the entrance to the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The earlier church had stood near to the Wilton tomb. The churchyard contains a collection of early C19th and Victorian monuments, headstones and chest tombs; the railings and gates date from c.1790 and trees include notable yew, holly, cedar, oak and lime. The churchyard was extended in 1906 and 1924. Although no longer open for burials, St. Mary's has a memorial garden where ashes can be buried.