Description
The site was formerly that of the West Ham Union Workhouse, which was built in 1842 in what was then a rural area. It later became Langthorne Hospital, named after Stratford Langthorne Abbey, which had owned much of the area in medieval times. After the hospital closed in the late 1980s the buildings were acquired for new housing, with the remainder of the site acquired to create a new public park. Langthorne Park was opened on 17 June 2000 and features a number of specially commissioned art features to enhance both the physical environment of the park as well as providing visual representations of the site's long history. An amphitheatre and pavilion provide community facilities adjacent to a children's play area; other facilities include sports pitches, a quiet garden with ornamental pond and a small lake with a fountain that is important for nature and wildlife.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | West Ham Union Workhouse; Langthorne Hospital |
|---|---|
| Site location | Birch Grove/Langthorne Road/High Road |
| Postcode | E11 4YG |
| What3Words | ///sport.flame.lake |
| Type of Site | Public Park |
| Borough | Waltham Forest |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | 9am - half hour before sunset |
| Facilities | Amphitheatre, ecology area, quiet garden, playscheme, multisport and basket ball, toilets |
| Events | Langthorne Park Festival |
| Public Transport | Tube: Leyton (Central). Rail: Maryland. London Overground: Leytonstone High Road then bus. Bus: 257 |
| Research Updated | 8 April 2024 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Stratford Langthorne Abbey was founded in 1135 and owned over 600 hectares (1500 acres) of local farmland. The West Ham Union Workhouse was built here in the 1842 to house paupers from Vestry House in Walthamstow and accommodated up to 1,000 inmates from Walthamstow, Leyton, Stratford and West Ham. When it was built the workhouse was surrounded by countryside, but by the 1880s the area was built over by housing. It later became a home for the chronic sick, aged and infirm known as the Central Home, run by West Ham Borough Council, and in 1948 it became Langthorne Hospital specialising in elderly care. By the late 1980s the hospital was closed, declared surplus to requirements. Waltham Forest Housing Action Trust acquired the main part of the original workhouse building for conversion into residential accommodation, with the rest of the site acquired by Waltham Forest Council in 1996 for the Langthorne Park development. In front of the main workhouse building, chapel and gatehouse is a partially landscaped area of roadway, with trees and shrubs separated by a low brick wall from Union Close. The old workhouse buildings behind are surrounded by brick walls and have been refurbished for private residences overlooking the new park.
Langthorne Park was opened on 17 June 2000, laid out with sports and play facilities as well as landscaped areas and gardens, with a sheltered garden for old and/or disabled people, and an ecology area. The park also incorporates a small grassed area of church land around Holy Trinity Church; it is adjacent to a Youth Technology Centre, and opposite Jubilee Gardens (q.v.).
Langthorne Park was opened on 17 June 2000, laid out with sports and play facilities as well as landscaped areas and gardens, with a sheltered garden for old and/or disabled people, and an ecology area. The park also incorporates a small grassed area of church land around Holy Trinity Church; it is adjacent to a Youth Technology Centre, and opposite Jubilee Gardens (q.v.).
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ391860 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 1.89 |
| Site Ownership | LB Waltham Forest |
| Site Management | Urbaser Ltd as part of the Street Care and Associated Services contract with LB Waltham Forest; Friends of Langthorne Park |
| Dates | Hospital 1840s; park 2000 |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Workhouse building, chapel, gatehouse lodge |
| 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 | Waltham Forest |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | Premier Park |
Gallery
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
Jubilee Gardens was created for Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee. A plaque on the site records that it was undertaken by Leyton Society in 1977 The small open space consists of an open access paved area along the busy High Road, with raised beds, seating and shrubbery. It is opposite Langthorne Park, which was created in 2000 on the site of the former West Ham Union Workhouse.
Harrow Green was established as a separate ecclesiastical district in 1879. Formerly forest land, this small triangle between road junctions was given to Leyton Board to be maintained as an ornamental enclosure. The War Memorial was erected after WWI, now commemorating the dead of both world wars, located in the centre of a formal 1930s style layout comprising a circular paved seating area with four radial pathways to the surrounding streets. Stone piers are at each entrance, those on the main entrance from High Street surmounted by small glass flame shades. Four planted areas have grass and lozenge-shaped beds, with small trees around the perimeter. Winter flowering cherry trees were replaced by silver birch in the C21st. Nearby is the 1930s Harrow Green Library on Cathall Road.
St Patrick's Catholic Cemetery opened in 1868 to cope with the population expansion in Hackney in the C19th. The cemetery buildings, including its yellow brick Gothic mortuary chapel, were designed by the Roman Catholic architect Samuel J Nicholl who designed a number of RC churches as well as the cemetery buildings of St Mary's Catholic Cemetery at Kensal Green. By the early 1980s 168,000 burials are recorded as having taken place at St Patrick's. In order to cater for the demand for burials, land was reclaimed by adding a further 6-foot layer of earth over the old graves. Among those buried here is Mary Kelly, the last victim of Jack the Ripper, murdered in 1888.