Description
Redbridge Recreation Ground is a public park that provides facilities for informal recreation in a scenic natural environment. It is largely grass with two play areas and the north area is designated for nature conservation, where an arboretum has been planted with trees of interest within an area of naturalised spring bulbs. The southern end of the park provides areas for informal sport and play equipment for children of all ages and abilities with a spider web climbing frame, roundabout, swings and floor markings for games like hop-scotch. The park is recognised for its importance for nature conservation, and the grassland that covers most of the park contains a higher than usual proportion of wildflowers, including autumn hawkbit and yarrow. A line of poplars along one edge has three clumps of mistletoe, a rare plant in London. The park has been designated a Queen Elizabeth II Field.
Practical Information
| Site location | Woodford Bridge Road; Keswick Gardens, Ilford |
|---|---|
| Postcode | IG4 5ND |
| What3Words | ///fever.object.visits |
| Type of Site | Public Park |
| Borough | Redbridge |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | 8am - dusk |
| Facilities | Children's play equipment |
| Research Updated | 7 October 2024 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The arboretum was established in December 2008, and contains 29 different species of tree, which are marked on a noticeboard that provides a trail through the arboretum. They include Magnolia kobus, Manchurian Cherry (Prunus maackii 'amber Beauty'), Medlar (Mespilus germanica), Ginkgo biloba, large-leafed Lime (Tilia platyphyilos 'Rubra'), Liquidamber styraciflua 'Worpelsdon', Acer platanoides 'crimson King', these latter providing fine colour. Other species found are Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera), Catalpa bignoniodies 'Aurea' and the Foxglove or Empress tree, Pawlonia tomentosa.
Along with 4 other parks in the borough (Westwood, Barkingside, Hainault Recreation Grounds and Loxford Park) Redbridge Recreation Ground was designated a Queen Elizabeth II Field in 2012. In June 2010 HRH The Duke of Cambridge had launched the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge, which aimed to protect spaces to mark HM The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, also coinciding with the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. This was a nationwide project by the charity Fields in Trust (FIT), whose mission is to protect recreational land and encourage the provision of playing fields in communities across the country. FIT grew from the National Playing Fields Association, which was set up in 1925, and later established the King George V Playing Fields in 1936 in memory of the late King George. Successive monarchs and members of the Royal Family have supported the charity over the years. The Queen Elizabeth II Fields designation brought protection for outdoor recreational open space, and a sum of money was provided to improve the parks. At the close of the Challenge 1,396 spaces across the UK had been protected in perpetuity with investment of £4 million delivered into these spaces. This programme alone more than doubled the number of spaces protected through Fields in Trust.
Along with 4 other parks in the borough (Westwood, Barkingside, Hainault Recreation Grounds and Loxford Park) Redbridge Recreation Ground was designated a Queen Elizabeth II Field in 2012. In June 2010 HRH The Duke of Cambridge had launched the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge, which aimed to protect spaces to mark HM The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, also coinciding with the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. This was a nationwide project by the charity Fields in Trust (FIT), whose mission is to protect recreational land and encourage the provision of playing fields in communities across the country. FIT grew from the National Playing Fields Association, which was set up in 1925, and later established the King George V Playing Fields in 1936 in memory of the late King George. Successive monarchs and members of the Royal Family have supported the charity over the years. The Queen Elizabeth II Fields designation brought protection for outdoor recreational open space, and a sum of money was provided to improve the parks. At the close of the Challenge 1,396 spaces across the UK had been protected in perpetuity with investment of £4 million delivered into these spaces. This programme alone more than doubled the number of spaces protected through Fields in Trust.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ420893 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 9.41 |
| Site Ownership | LB Redbridge |
| Site Management | Vision/Parks |
| 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 | Redbridge |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Local Importance |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
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
Ilford Animal Cemetery dates from the late 1920s, after the land was purchased for the PDSA Sanatorium in 1927. Shortly after this the first animal was buried at the request of its owner, since when thousands of family pets have been buried here, as well as military animals including those awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal for war service. Now closed for burial the cemetery was restored in 2007 and is maintained as a historical site. The PDSA Paws Forever Tribute Garden was laid out together with a Garden of Remembrance designed by Bob Flowerdew and opened in June 2008.
Clayhall Park is on former land of the Manor of Clay Hall, which was broken up in 1927. First mentioned in 1203, it probably remained in ownership of the de la Claie or Clay family until 1313 and then passed through various owners. The manor house, which must have once been a substantial building, was demolished in the mid C18th and replaced by a farmhouse. The park opened to the public in 1934 and the farmhouse, outbuildings and chapel were demolished in 1935. The large, flat park is interspersed with sycamore, ash, oak, lime and horse chestnut avenue.
Wanstead Hospital was built as the Merchant Seamen's Orphan Asylum in 1861 in an elaborate pseudo-Venetian style. The Asylum buildings were extended over the years and by 1883 housed 270 orphans but in 1920 it moved to Bearwood. It was purchased for a hospital in 1938 by Essex County Council and in 1948 became Wanstead Hospital when it joined the new NHS. The hospital eventually closed in 1986 and in c.2000 the gothic buildings were largely converted into flats, a scheme named Clock Court after the hospital's prominent tower. The hospital once had well laid out flowerbeds but there is little evidence of the gardens as part was lost when the hospital site was developed. The old Asylum fronts onto Hermon Hill between Makepiece Road and Victory Road, and the site is surrounded by a red brick wall.
