Normand Park

The park occupies an area laid waste by bombing in WWII when much property including the house and many surrounding streets were damaged by a land mine in 1940 and a VI rocket in 1944. Named after Normand House, the park is partly on the site of the grounds of the house including some orchard land to the west of Normand Road, originally called Normand Lane and connected with Lillie Road, and an area of orchard to the east of Normand Road, which was built over from c.1900 onwards.

In medieval times there were fields around the small hamlet of Walham Green and there were market gardens in the area into the C19th. In 1649 Thomas Wyld, a member of the Inner Temple, purchased vacant land here known as No Man's Land, from where the name of the house originates. He built his villa, Normand House, which at one time was approached via a drive flanked by elm trees. The property was purchased in 1812 by Jonas Hall and Miss Pope who ran a private lunatic asylum here until c.1872, after which it briefly became Princess Helena's School for Girls and then Cardinal Manning's school for pauper boys. In 1885 it was purchased by St Katherine's Convent whose nuns ran a correction house, working with first offender girls, who were trained for domestic work.

Normand House was demolished following the damage it sustained in WWII bombing when the London County Council closed the bombed area in 1951, enclosing it for housing development and to create a public park. The park was laid out and opened in 1952, later extended to the south to Lillie Road as further demolition took place and in 1971 it was transferred by the GLC to the Hammersmith and Fulham Council, after which the park was completed. It was provided with a number of facilities, which included a playground, bowling green and sports areas, and at one time there was a One O'clock Club. The most historic feature is a long wall along Normand Road, which was once the boundary to Normand House. The park was divided into separate areas for the different activities and also had a garden area, lawns and flower beds. Trees included native species such as ash, beech, hornbeam, silver birch, white willow and also has a gingko tree.

Fulham Pools were opened in Normand Park in 1982 on a site adjacent to that of the old house. It was one of the first leisure pools in London, having 3 pools including wave machine, water fountains, water slide as well as teaching pools. However, the pools were closed by 1995 and proposals for a new Fulham Sports and Leisure Centre were put forward by LB Hammersmith and Fulham in 1997/98, with funding from Sports Centres Lottery Bid. The new leisure centre was built in 2002.

A major regeneration scheme for the park including new landscaping by Kinnear Landscape Architects was completed in 2008. It was undertaken in partnership with local people of North Fulham, with £3million invested in the scheme, of which £880k came from LB Hammersmith & Fulham, £2.2m from the neighbourhood regeneration programme North Fulham New Deal for Communities and £25k from Arts Council England. The park now has a larger and improved play area with outside table tennis tables, climbing walls, ball games area, wildflower planting, sand pit and an informal play area with grass, trees and balancing beams. There is also a BMX practice area, a community garden, a new tree-lined walk around the bowling green, and an open grass area with picnic decks and wild flowers. Groves of fruit trees have been planting, recalling the area's early use for orchards, and a Plaza Garden on the site of Normand House has raised planters and planting that references early monastic gardens recalling the site's one-time use by St Katherine's Convent. An artist-designed lighting scheme activated by movement was commissioned from Jason Bruges Studio to animate the north/south Broadwalk through the park: 'Shadow play and accelerated natural growth create the content of the animations. As an individual passes by a column, the LED lights are triggered to ‘grow' up the trunk of the tree and along the canopy. Daily, from dusk onwards, the trees become a living canvas for passers-by, animating the park in an endlessly new and playful way' (Jason Bruges Studio). The refurbished park building houses toilets and an office for the new park officer, and there are viewing panels in the park wall along Normand Road. An underground water tank enables the park to be irrigated with rainwater. The Normand Park Celebration Day, organised by the Friends of Normand Park, took place on Saturday 30 August 2008.