Hermit Road Recreation Ground (including Daisy Parsons Memorial Garden)

The site for Hermit Road Recreation Ground was purchased by John H. Bethell, Mayor of West Ham and then MP, later Baron Bethell of Romford, who was a major influence in ensuring that public parks were provided as part of the development of the area. Bethell was responsible for both Balaam Street Park, later renamed Plaistow Park, and Canning Town Recreation Ground (q.q.v.); Bethell Road nearby recalls him. The land, at that time open, identified as Plaistow marsh on OS maps, crossed by various water channels (see OS 2nd Edition 25 inch map, revised 1893/4, London LIV), was purchased with the aid of private subscriptions and the MPGA also assisted with the purchase and provided 24 seats. Hermit Road Recreation Ground was opened in May 1899; the original layout featured a tree-lined north-south axis with a bandstand in a central circular area, from which a tree-lined path ran to the south-west corner; a perimeter walk with trees and shrubs encircled the park, with a drinking fountain and toilets provided (see OS New Series 25 inch map, revised 1914, Essex n LXXXVI.6), and seats, refreshment room, shelter and swings were apparently added. By 1939 a bowling green, tennis courts and playground existed in the northern section.

Although most of Hermit Road Recreation Ground's original features have since disappeared, the site has mature plane trees along Hermit Road, and its original railings and main entrance gate are on Hermit Road. The 1930s brick toilets were boarded up, and the site of the bandstand remains marked by a garden area with shrubberies. By 1968, the park was extended when an area to the north-east that had once had Victorian terraces adjacent to Bethell Avenue and Grange Road, marked on the OS 2nd Edition and New Series Maps, but post-war shown as an empty plot, and here a small ornamental rose garden was created to commemorate Daisy Parsons, who was Mayor of West Ham in 1936. Among London boroughs Newham was badly hit by bombing, especially in the south of the borough due to its proximity to the Royal Docks and industrial usage. Residential areas suffering bomb damage were subject to urban clearance after the war. 

Current facilities include a five-a-side football goal, a play area and 2 tennis courts that are part of Newham Parks Tennis Scheme. Arc in the Park, an open access adventure playground for 5-14 year olds, which particularly aims to include disabled children, was established in the recreation ground, with a garden project with raised beds, a water feature, scented herbs. Arc now comes under Ambition, Aspire, Achieve, a Newham-based children's charity. The Friends of Hermit Road Recreation Ground is involved in caring for the recreation ground in conjunction with Newham Council.