Description
The small park was opened in the 1930s as Jutsums Lane Recreation Ground, later changed to Jutsums Park. Judson's Lane is an old lane running across farmland, shown on C19th maps. The Great Eastern Railway had reached Romford in 1839 and thenceforth the old market town expanded although the area to the west remained largely farmland into the 1920s. The future park's site, near Crowlands and Fiddler's Hall, is marked as a gravel pit by 1896. By 1939 the Recreation Ground is shown laid out with perimeter trees along north, south and west boundaries, bounded to the north by the railway escarpment. A children's playground is shown to the east with a drinking fountain and lavatories, and a path leads east from the entrance on Jutsom's Lane.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Jutsums Lane Recreation Ground |
|---|---|
| Site location | Jutsums Lane |
| Postcode | RM7 0ER |
| What3Words | ///swim.scouts.dawn |
| Type of Site | Public Park |
| Borough | Havering |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | closed dusk |
| Facilities | car park, playground |
| Public Transport | Rail: Romford then bus. Bus: 499 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The small park was opened by the local council as Jutsums Lane Recreation Ground in the 1930s, the name later changed to Jutsums Park. The Great Eastern Railway reached Romford in 1839 and thenceforth the old market town expanded with easy daily travel for commuters to London although the area west of Romford remained largely farmland into the 1930s, and the area south of the railway is still quite rural. On the 1:2500 OS map of Essex of 1871 Judson's Lane is shown running south from London Road near Lowland's Farm and Park Farm to Crow Lane near Crowlands and Fiddler's Hall. The site of the recreation ground is marked as a gravel pit by 1896. By 1939 the Recreation Ground is shown laid out with perimeter trees along the north, south and west boundaries, bounded to the north by the railway escarpment. A children's playground is shown to the east with a drinking fountain and lavatories, and a path runs from the west entrance on Jutsom's Lane. By this time the land north of the railway had residential development although to the south the land was less built up, with ribbon development along Crow Lane.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ499878 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 1.7 |
| Site Ownership | LB Havering |
| Site Management | Parks and Open Spaces |
| Dates | 1932 |
| 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
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.
Becontree Heath, probably the meeting place of the Saxon Hundred Court, was ancient commonland, and the area remained rural until the 1920s. Although much is since built over, some remains as open space. In 1931 a portion of the land was transferred to Dagenham UDC by Special Act of Parliament, extinguishing common rights, and was levelled, drained and planted for public recreation, opening as Central Park. The land north of Wood Lane was largely used for allotment gardens in the C20th, but by 1971 Wantz Boating Lake had been created to the south. The open land today is used for school playing fields, children's recreational facilities and a golf club, which uses the former boating lake as an Aqua driving range, the only one of its kind.
Cottons Park, originally called Cottons Recreational Ground, takes its name from the estate of the C16th landowner, Nicholas Cotton. The land for the park was acquired by Romford UDC from the Cottons family in 1920 and the park was laid out with planting, paths and a bandstand, beyond which to the north and west were playing fields for rugby, soccer and cricket as well as tennis courts. A children's playground and sand pit were located near the main entrance to the east. During WWII the land was given over for war-time allotments, public air-raid shelters and a decontamination centre was constructed, which was later converted into a pavilion and café. Six wooden sculptures were installed in 2009 to commemorate six civilians who lost their lives in the park during bombing in October 1940.