Description
Harrow Lodge Park is an extensive rolling park, formerly part of the manor of Maylards Green and Wybridge. By the late C16th Maylards house stood near the present boating lakes, but no longer exists. The land was developed for public use in the C20th; 60 acres were used for food production during WWII after which the local Council transformed the site into a public park with tennis courts, a rockery and a miniature golf course among the facilities. An 8.5-acre Boating Lake was formed by damming the River Ravensbourne, with a walled garden nearby. In the early 1960s a Garden for the Blind was created near Harrow Lodge. In the late 1980s Hornchurch Sports Centre was built at the northern end of the park.
Practical Information
| Site location | Hornchurch Road/Rainham Road/Abbs Cross Lane, Hornchurch |
|---|---|
| Postcode | RM12 4QU |
| What3Words | ///fantastic.learn.limes |
| Type of Site | Public Park |
| Borough | Havering |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Facilities | Car park, playground, bowls, cricket, fishing, football, hockey, tennis (plus Hornchurch Sport centre - swimming) |
| Events | Events include annual Havering Show and Planet Havering |
| Public Transport | Tube: Elm Park (District). Bus: 165, 252, 324, 365 |
| Research Updated | 1 February 2007 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Harrow Lodge Park is an extensive rolling park, formerly the manor of Maylards Green and Wybridge. The original name is derived from the Mayloor family who held the manor in the C13th and C14th. The name was corrupted in the C19th to Maylands as denoted by Maylands Avenue in Elm Park. In 1594 Maylards was an important house standing near the present boating lakes in Harrow Lodge Park; in 1670 the house was recorded as having 17 hearths and in 1849 the combined manors totalled some 440 acres.There is no longer a house on the site and the park was developed for public use in the C20th. 60 acres of the land were used for extensive food production during WWII and following the cessation of hostilities the local Council took it upon themselves to transform the site into a recreational centre.
A comprehensive layout was proposed in the late 1940s, some of which was adhered to. A disused pit was filled in with waste material to create four tennis courts and a rockery in 1948/49 and an 18-hole miniature golf course was created in 1952/53, when entrance gates and railings were also built at Rainham Road. An 8.5-acre Boating Lake was formed in 1954/56 by damming the River Ravensbourne, together with paths, shrubs, trees and formal features, and a walled garden near the lake was created in 1959/60. In the early 1960s a Garden for the Blind was formed between Harrow Lodge, an C18th/C19th stuccoed building, and a children’s playground. An avenue of horse chestnuts leads from Hornchurch Road to the small pond in front of the Lodge. The largest lake has large flocks of mute swan and Canada geese and on one of its wooded islands has a small heronry. Kingfishers are regularly seen here. Other trees planted included oak, elm, lime, larch, Corsican pine, cherry, hazel and yew.
In the late 1980s Hornchurch Sports Centre, a modern sports complex, was built at the northern end of the park.
A comprehensive layout was proposed in the late 1940s, some of which was adhered to. A disused pit was filled in with waste material to create four tennis courts and a rockery in 1948/49 and an 18-hole miniature golf course was created in 1952/53, when entrance gates and railings were also built at Rainham Road. An 8.5-acre Boating Lake was formed in 1954/56 by damming the River Ravensbourne, together with paths, shrubs, trees and formal features, and a walled garden near the lake was created in 1959/60. In the early 1960s a Garden for the Blind was formed between Harrow Lodge, an C18th/C19th stuccoed building, and a children’s playground. An avenue of horse chestnuts leads from Hornchurch Road to the small pond in front of the Lodge. The largest lake has large flocks of mute swan and Canada geese and on one of its wooded islands has a small heronry. Kingfishers are regularly seen here. Other trees planted included oak, elm, lime, larch, Corsican pine, cherry, hazel and yew.
In the late 1980s Hornchurch Sports Centre, a modern sports complex, was built at the northern end of the park.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ525864 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 47.3 |
| Site Ownership | LB Havering |
| Site Management | Parks and Open Spaces |
| Dates | 1947/49 - 1960s |
| Designers | ?Borough officers |
| Listed Structures | Local list: Harrow Lodge Farm |
| 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 | Havering |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Local Importance (part of park) |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Green Chain |
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
St Leonard's Cottage Homes was established on former farmland of Harrow Lodge by the Poor Law Guardians of the Parish of St Leonard in Shoreditch, desirous of re-locating the destitute children of their parish to healthier, rural surroundings. The pioneering scheme had 11 2-storey 'cottages', each housing 30 children, built facing each other across a wide gravelled roadway that ran south from the entrance and Warden's lodge on Hornchurch Road. It was provided with a school, swimming bath, workshops and infirmary, and landscaping was an important component. A communal green space, front and back gardens as well as vegetable gardens and orchard, tennis courts and cricket were provided. The homes closed in 1984, becoming largely derelict, but from 1990 has been converted for private residence. Although the unity and much of the detail of the original layout are lost, it preserves a sense of its former character.
The cemetery was laid out in c1914 by a private company, with the first burial recorded in 1916. There is a brick chapel, but the cemetery lodge has since been demolished. It was purchased in 1958/60 by Dagenham Borough Council and renamed Eastbrook End Cemetery. It is now within the new Eastbrookend Country Park. It is unusual in having an apiary in the grounds.
Havering Well Garden is a small public garden on the site of a former burial ground for the Independent Church. In 1952 the Trustees of the burial ground conveyed the site to Hornchurch UDC, who were covenanted to lay it out as a garden of rest and register it with the Charity Commissioners. The landscaping consisted of grass with shrubs and trees around the border with a commemorative stone as a centrepiece and two gravestones set into the ground. There were flower beds to the front of the garden and wooden seats were provided.