Description
Landscaping and communal lawns to Hayesford Park, a modernist housing development built in the 1960s, with echoes of Garden City and Garden Suburb ideals. The first phase was built in 1960-63, laid out with generous planting. A good example is the hidden square between the larger flats of Fairacre, which were built in the last phase of the development in 1965; the central garden has mature trees and an ornamental pond at one end.
Practical Information
| Site location | Letchworth Drive/Mead Way, Bromley |
|---|---|
| Postcode | BR2 9BL (Fairacre garden) |
| What3Words | ///organ.models.causes |
| Type of Site | Housing/Estate Landscaping |
| Borough | Bromley |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Public Transport | Rail: Bromley South. Bus: 119, 146. |
| Research Updated | 1 December 2006 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The northern part of Hayes was not developed until the 1940s, following the earlier development of the land to the south, which took place from the mid-1920s. Hayes remained rural until then, despite the arrival of the railway in the 1880s, development beginning in earnest after estates such as that owned by the Norman family began to be broken up and sold for building. The death of Sir Everard Hambro of Hayes Place in 1925 led to the sale of the estate land by his son, although the house remained until 1933.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ403675 (Fairacre garden) |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | LB Bromley? - to check ownership, management company? |
| Site Management | Leisure Services |
| Dates | 1960s |
| Designers | Building Design Partnership |
| 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 | Bromley |
| 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
The 1st edition OS Map of 1871 shows the site as farmland. The park is named after the Norman family whose estates once dominated Bromley; their name dates back to 1661. The land for Norman Park was acquired from A C Norman by Bromley Council in the 1930s. Norman Park is a large open space mainly given over to sports, its main entrance up a tarmac road from Hayes Lane on the western side.
South Hill Wood opened as a public park in 1959 but has remnants of ancient woodland and is the former grounds of South Hill Wood (now No. 1 South Hill Road), built for local philanthropist Sir Thomas Dewey. He laid out the gardens from the 1880s, which included lawns and flowerbeds, woodland walks, water garden, kitchen garden and orchard. During WWI he provided his Music Pavilion as a VAD hospital. In 1926 South Hill Wood became the family home of the King family until the 1940s. Canadian soldiers stationed in the area cut messages into the brickwork of the boundary wall and graffiti from that time was preserved when the wall was rebuilt in the 1990s. The estate was purchased in 1952 and the grounds converted as a public park, although the house is now separate. The park has remnants of earlier garden features and planting. Numerous improvements have been undertaken by the active Friends group since 2009. Its transformation was celebrated by the opening of the park's Diamond Jubilee Gates in 2012.
Kingswood Glen is an area of woodland containing four ponds that was bequeathed to Beckenham Council in 1962 by its owners, two sisters, who stipulated it should be preserved and protected. Research undertaken over the years has established that the land had remained unchanged for up to 800 years and may once have been the site of an Anglo-Saxon hill fort, the ponds believed to be fire pits. Tree and plant species suggest it is ancient woodland and the park is designated as an important site for nature conservation.
