Description
Ridgeway Park is an irregularly shaped site between residential streets, the northern section having tennis courts and park keeper's hut of c.1930s, and open grassland beyond. In the southern section is a very fine miniature railway with an enclosed, landscaped stretch of track erected in the late 1940s by the Chingford Model Engineering Club. Walt Disney, a keen miniature railway enthusiast, visited the railway in c.1954. From 1946 to 1970 the park was the venue for the annual Chingford Day, first held at the instigation of the Chingford Horticultural Society.
Practical Information
| Site location | Endlebury Road, The Ridgeway/Peel Close/ Old Church Road |
|---|---|
| Postcode | E4 |
| What3Words | ///they.took.credit |
| Type of Site | Public Park |
| Borough | Waltham Forest |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | 9am - half hour before sunset. Miniature railway: Sunday afternoons in summer |
| Facilities | Miniature railway, playing fields, children's play areas, tennis courts, outdoor table tennis, putting green, toilets |
| Events | Train operates (Chingford and District Model Engineering Club) Sundays 2.30-6pm 1st Sun in April - end Sept |
| Public Transport | Rail: Chingford then bus. Bus: 97, 215, 397 |
| Research Updated | 22 December 2021 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The Ridgeway was an ancient road running along the spine of high ground overlooking the Lea Valley. Ridgeway Park opened in 1935 and was the venue for a popular annual event, Chingford Day, which was first held in 1946 at the instigation of the Chingford Horticultural Society. The first event was reputedly 'the biggest fete Chingford had ever seen' with proceeds going to the Welcome Home Fund for returning local servicemen. Featuring flower displays and shows, Chingford Day was a successful and popular annual event in Ridgeway Park until 1970 when it moved to Chingford Junior High School. Although it continued until 1987, it became a 'pale shadow of itself' once it left Ridgeway Park.
The park's miniature railway was started during World War II when a group of enthusiasts demonstrated model engines here and founded the Chingford Model Engineering Club, one of whose Club rules was that the Mayor of Chingford should be invited to be President. The miniature railway was originally adjacent to two serpentine boating lakes, now drained. In c.1954 Walt Disney, himself a model railway enthusiast with his own 7 1/4 inch miniature railway at his home, made a special visit to the park to see the new railway when on a business visit to London. He reputedly asked his chauffeur if he knew of any miniature railways in London, as a result of which he was taken to Ridgeway Park in Chingford where the park was holding the Chingford Day celebration. Walt Disney drove trains around the track and allowed the press to take photographs, leaving the Mayor to open the Chingford Day celebration practically on his own. The railway continues to be a summer attraction run by the Chingford and District Model Engineering Club.
Entry to the park off Endlebury Road is through green and gold painted iron gates, from where a path lined with trees and shrubs leads to a small area of formal planting, with rose beds and seating, beyond which the park opens out with grass and playing fields. Although there are some formal rose beds and remains of shrubbery, children's play areas have since been erected. A bandstand was constructed in 2019, near which an orchard of fruit trees has been planted.
The children's play area was refurbished in 2021, with funding through LB Waltham Forest's Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL). This fund is collected by the Council from new developments within the borough, and is legally required to be spent on local infrastructure projects in developed areas. The views of the local community are taken into account in the decision-making process. Other parks have benefitted from NCIL funding, including Memorial Park and Cann Hall Park (q.q.v.).
The park's miniature railway was started during World War II when a group of enthusiasts demonstrated model engines here and founded the Chingford Model Engineering Club, one of whose Club rules was that the Mayor of Chingford should be invited to be President. The miniature railway was originally adjacent to two serpentine boating lakes, now drained. In c.1954 Walt Disney, himself a model railway enthusiast with his own 7 1/4 inch miniature railway at his home, made a special visit to the park to see the new railway when on a business visit to London. He reputedly asked his chauffeur if he knew of any miniature railways in London, as a result of which he was taken to Ridgeway Park in Chingford where the park was holding the Chingford Day celebration. Walt Disney drove trains around the track and allowed the press to take photographs, leaving the Mayor to open the Chingford Day celebration practically on his own. The railway continues to be a summer attraction run by the Chingford and District Model Engineering Club.
Entry to the park off Endlebury Road is through green and gold painted iron gates, from where a path lined with trees and shrubs leads to a small area of formal planting, with rose beds and seating, beyond which the park opens out with grass and playing fields. Although there are some formal rose beds and remains of shrubbery, children's play areas have since been erected. A bandstand was constructed in 2019, near which an orchard of fruit trees has been planted.
The children's play area was refurbished in 2021, with funding through LB Waltham Forest's Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL). This fund is collected by the Council from new developments within the borough, and is legally required to be spent on local infrastructure projects in developed areas. The views of the local community are taken into account in the decision-making process. Other parks have benefitted from NCIL funding, including Memorial Park and Cann Hall Park (q.q.v.).
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ378937 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 5.36 |
| Site Ownership | LB Waltham Forest |
| Site Management | Urbaser Ltd as part of the Street Care and Associated Services contract with LB Waltham Forest |
| Dates | 1935 |
| 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
Where Mansfield Park is situated used to be communal grazing and hay-cropping land, the name Mansfield deriving from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning land held in common. The park is entered at the brow of Mansfield Hill through ornamental iron gates, the design incorporating the park's name and two leaping deer. It opens onto a grassed area with a number of trees planted either side of a central path, which leads through a gateway to the rolling hillside beyond. The park has fine views across William Girling Reservoir.
Chingford Mount Cemetery was set up by the non-conformist Abney Park Cemetery Company in 1884 when its cemetery in Hackney had become congested. The site purchased was Caroline's Mount or the Mount Caroline Estate, so-called after the wife of the land owner. In 1975 new owners wished to build housing on part of the unused land but this proposal was opposed and the cemetery subsequently became neglected and its chapel and lodges vandalised. In 1977 it was acquired by LB Waltham Forest. The gates at the western main entrance survive from the C19th layout, with a short avenue lined by mature London plane trees, and the cemetery is densely planted with mature trees.
All Saints Church was formerly Chingford parish church, erected on a site of worship probably in use since Norman times. By 1710 its name had been changed to St Peter and St Paul, but it ceased to be used when it became structurally unsafe and a new parish church was built on Chingford Green. By the early C20th the old church had become derelict, known as ‘The Green Church’ due to its dense ivy-cladding, and an inspiration to artists. When new housing was built in the area, the church was re-built in 1928 and once more took its old name of All Saints. It has a small churchyard.
