Description
The land was formerly common land, which was acquired from the War Department in 1952 and provided as public open space with funding from King George's Fields Foundation, which had been set up in 1936 as a living memorial to the late King. It comprises an area of open grass with a number of mature oak trees in the centre. At the south east corner is a brick structure with seating niche, either side of which are brick piers with the plaques recording the support of King George's Fields Foundation.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Little Eltham Common |
|---|---|
| Site location | Well Hall Road/Broad Walk |
| Postcode | SE9 6TZ |
| What3Words | ///stones.thinks.kicked |
| Type of Site | Public Open Land |
| Borough | Greenwich |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Public Transport | Rail: Eltham then bus. Bus: 161, 122. |
| Research Updated | 1 November 2007 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The land was formerly common land of Little Eltham Common or Kidbrooke Common. The 4.94 acre site was acquired from the War Department in 1952 and provided as public open space by the GLC with a grant of funding of £1,000 from King George's Fields Foundation. The King George's Fields Foundation was established on 3 November 1936 in order to promote the establishment of playing fields in memory of the late King George. It was considered that the King would have approved of such a living memorial, which would benefit the 'individual well-being and the general welfare of the nation', and young people in particular, by providing them with the environment and opportunity for open air exercise. The Trust Deed of the Foundation defined a playing field as 'any open space used for the purpose of outdoor games, sports and pastimes.' Local authorities were able to apply to the Foundation, whose trustee was the National Playing Fields Association, for a grant to provide these new facilities for public recreation. Each new playing field was to be known as King George's Field and was generally provided with heraldic panels that would distinguish it as such. It was a condition of the grant that the tenure of the site was sufficiently secure so that it would provide a meaningful legacy to the king's memory; the land must have been acquired only for the purpose of public recreation. The design of the entrance and the ground's layout had to be approved by the Foundation, which was to receive an annual report for the first five years from the acceptance of the offer. 471 playing fields across the UK were funded and following the demise of the scheme in 1965, their protection has been undertaken by the Fields in Trust. The largest King George's Field is Enfield Playing Fields (q.v.), some 128 acres, and the smallest is in the City of London, King George's Field in Portsoken Street (q.v.).
King George's Field in Greenwich comprises an area of open grass with a number of mature oak trees in the centre. At the south east corner, near the junction of Well Hall Road is a brick structure with seating niche, either side of which are brick piers that have the plaques recording King George's Fields Foundation. Adjacent is the drive leading to Greenwich Cemetery (q.v.), with shrubs planted either side.
King George's Field in Greenwich comprises an area of open grass with a number of mature oak trees in the centre. At the south east corner, near the junction of Well Hall Road is a brick structure with seating niche, either side of which are brick piers that have the plaques recording King George's Fields Foundation. Adjacent is the drive leading to Greenwich Cemetery (q.v.), with shrubs planted either side.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ427764 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 2.02 |
| Site Ownership | RB Greenwich (registered under the Land Registration Acts 1925 and 1936) |
| Site Management | Parks and Open Spaces Department |
| 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 | Greenwich |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Area of Special Character of Metropolitan Importance |
| 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
Eltham Common and the neighbouring Shooters Hill Woodlands were once notorious haunts for highwaymen and other robbers; the site of a gibbet was in the north-west corner of the Common where criminals were publicly hung and their bodies left to decay as a caution to others. The land was purchased by the Office of Woods and Forests in 1812 and used by the War Department, although public access was permitted. In the early C20th Woolwich BC and the LCC applied to take over the site, but it wasn't until 1938 that nearly 13 hectares of the Common were acquired from the War Department as part of Green Belt legislation. Eltham Common consists of a roughly triangular area of grassland between junction of Well Hall Road and Shooters Hill beyond which is secondary woodland.
Greenwich Cemetery was founded 1856 by Greenwich Burial Board on a hilly site, which commands fine views towards both the City and Crystal Palace. The cemetery has two Gothic chapels, and a 1930s lodge at the entrance. Due to the proximity of the military academy and other institutions at Woolwich, there are numerous army personnel buried here. There is little mature planting, and particularly interesting tombs are found predominantly near the chapels.
Severndroog Castle, a Gothic folly, was erected by the widow of Sir William James (d.1783) in the grounds of Park Farm Place, which he had purchased in 1774. Sir William had worked for the East India Company and the name recalls his capture of a pirate fortress on the island of Severndroog off Malabar in 1755. By the C20th it was part of the grounds of Castlewood, whose last owner's will offered the estate to the LCC for public use. The grounds opened as a public park in 1922, with Severndroog Castle retained although the main house was not. Castle Lodge remains at the entrance of the driveway, which leads through remnants of landscaping to the Castle, crossing the Ha-Ha.
