Description
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.
Practical Information
| Site location | Roneo Corner, Hornchurch Road |
|---|---|
| Postcode | RM12 4TW |
| What3Words | ///limbs.chip.sleepy |
| Type of Site | Public Gardens |
| Borough | Havering |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Public Transport | Rail: Romford then bus. Bus: 165, 248, 348, 365 |
| Research Updated | 1 October 2010 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ517874 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.06 |
| Site Ownership | LB Havering |
| Site Management | Parks and Open Spaces |
| Dates | 1952 |
| 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 | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| 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
Park Lane existed as a route before the surrounding farmland was developed as housing. The area remained rural into the 1920s, and by 1938/9 the houses of Clydesdale Road had been built, although open land remained to the south. Park Lane Playground was laid out in the early 1950s for the use of local residents and schools. The facilities included a football pitch, children's playground and toilets and the layout included planting of shrubs. When Park Lane Housing Estate was built, a new entrance was made to the recreation ground.
On the site of a late C19th house and estate, Hylands was initially developed in the 1920s as a trotting and racing track. The first race meeting was held in 1925 and the course apparently a great attraction on race days, and also used for prestigious athletics meetings. It eventually closed down and was bought by Hornchurch UDC and converted into Hylands Park in the late 1920s, one of the first public parks to be provided in the district. An oval path, cricket and football pitches were laid on the former trotting track and a rose garden was planted in an area previously occupied by a static water tank. The stone gate piers with wrought iron gates at the Osborne Road entrance were from Grey Towers, the C19th castellated mansion built by Colonel Holmes of Langtons.
Crow Lane or Romford Cemetery was established by the Romford Burial Board in 1871 when space ran out in the parochial cemetery. The cemetery was taken over by Romford UDC in 1900 and is now run by South Essex Crematorium. It remains partially enclosed by its C19th railings, with ragstone gate-piers and two ragstone chapels joined by a gothic porte-cochère. The cemetery contains utilitarian monuments, with older graves near the chapels, and trees include holly, cedar and flowering cherry, rows of common lime and horse chestnut.