Description
Romford Golf Club was founded in 1894 by Sir Herbert Raphael. The golf course was designed by Open Champion James Braid and laid out on c.90 acres leased from the eastern portion of the C18th Gidea Park Estate, the Club's first secretary then the tenant of Gidea Hall. Raphael acquired the Gidea Park Estate in 1897 and was instrumental in the development of Romford Garden Suburb, as well as the creation of Raphael Park. A map of 1777 shows two parallel tree-lined avenues running north-east across the site, which on the 1807 estate map is marked The Park with clumps of trees and an avenue along its southern side. The roadway could be the Georgian track to Gidea Hall. There are two gun emplacements on the site, one complete.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Part of Gidea Park Estate |
|---|---|
| Site location | Heath Drive/Eastern Avenue, Romford |
| Postcode | RM2 5QB |
| What3Words | ///blows.them.cross |
| Type of Site | Private Open Land |
| Borough | Havering |
| Open to Public | Partially |
| Opening Times | Golf Club members only, but public footpath runs across golf course |
| Public Transport | Rail: Gidea Park. Bus: 151, 174, 350, 351, 374 |
| Research Updated | 1 July 2010 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Romford Golf Club was founded in 1894 by Sir Herbert H. Raphael, barrister and Liberal MP for South Derbyshire from 1906-1918. The golf course was laid out on about 90 acres leased from the eastern portion of the former C18th Gidea Park Estate and covenanted in perpetuity as open space. The Club's first secretary, Leslie Hollebone, at the time tenanted Gidea Hall. Raphael then acquired the Gidea Hall and the Estate in 1897 and was instrumental in the development of Romford Garden Suburb from 1910 onwards, as well as donating land to Romford Urban District Council for the development of Raphael Park (q.v.) as a public amenity. Chapman and Andre's map of 1777 shows two parallel tree-lined avenues running north-east across the golf course site from the east side of Gidea Hall, and it appears on the Gidea Park estate map of 1807 as The Park with clumps of trees and an avenue along its southern side. The roadway could be the Georgian track to Gidea Hall. The golf course was originally designed by Open Champion James Braid (1870-1950), who also designed Enfield Golf Course (q.v.). In recent years Romford Golf Course has been used as a Qualifying venue for 'The Open' Championship.
Until 2003 it was thought that a section of Roman road went through the golf course, appearing as a raised cambered strip about 12 feet wide in the same alignment as the modern London to Colchester Road north-east from Gallows Corner. However, this has recently been examined and it has been decided that this is not the case and its listing as an Scheduled Ancient Monument will be removed. The Golf Course has been described as being of high value to wild life; it contains relics of ancient grassland and is rich in rare plants. There are two gun emplacements, one complete.
Until 2003 it was thought that a section of Roman road went through the golf course, appearing as a raised cambered strip about 12 feet wide in the same alignment as the modern London to Colchester Road north-east from Gallows Corner. However, this has recently been examined and it has been decided that this is not the case and its listing as an Scheduled Ancient Monument will be removed. The Golf Course has been described as being of high value to wild life; it contains relics of ancient grassland and is rich in rare plants. There are two gun emplacements, one complete.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ524903 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 43.3 |
| Site Ownership | Romford Golf Club |
| Site Management | Romford Golf Club |
| Dates | C18th; 1890s (Golf Course) |
| Designers | Golf Course: James Braid |
| 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 | Havering |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | w. strip bordering Heath Drive: Gidea Park |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Borough Importance I |
| Green Belt | Yes |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
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
Romford Garden Suburb contains features from the C18th landscape of Gidea Park Estate, which were preserved and integrated into the C20th garden suburb. Sold for development in 1893, the estate was then resold in 1897 to Herbert Raphael. In 1910 Raphael, Charles McCurdy and John Tudor Walters, all 3 Liberal MPS, and shareholders in Hampstead Garden Suburb Co., formed Gidea Park Ltd for the purpose of building a new Garden Suburb on part of the east portion, purchasing additional land and arranging with Great Eastern Railway for a new station to be opened. The foundation stone was laid on 28 July 1910 and in June 1911 Gidea Park Exhibition of Houses and Cottages opened. By 1912 159 dwellings had been built, designed by over 100 architects, among them Clough Williams-Ellis, Raymond Unwin and Charles Ashbee. In 1934 a further competition and Modern Homes exhibition was held. The stated intention had been to retain Gidea Hall and its outbuildings, and up to 100 acres were covenanted as open spaces, including Reed Pond Walk Copse and Gidea Park Fishponds.
In 1928 St Michael's Mission Church was built here close to the new Romford Garden Suburb, which was developed between 1910 and 1930s on land once part of the former Gidea Park Estate. In 1931 it was decided to create a new parish of Gidea Park, prior to which the area had been within that of All Saints Squirrels Heath. The parish was established in 1933 and St Michael and All Angels was consecrated in 1938. The red brick building is set within grounds, and fronted by gardens. The Mission Church became the Bishop Chadwick Hall, one of a number of halls within the grounds.
Raphael Park is the western section of former landscaped grounds of Gidea Park Estate, now surrounded by suburban development. The Elizabethan Gidea Hall, which stood to the east of today's park, was rebuilt in 1720 by Sir John Eyles, who incorporated the moat into a formal layout of canals with the house at the centre of radiating avenues. A long canal called the Spoon Pond or Canal survives, now dry and laid out with tennis courts. In the late C18th, the park was enlarged and re-landscaped less formally and the lake or serpentine canal and a new bridge were built, now called Black's Canal and Black's Bridge after the C19th owner. In 1897 the estate was purchased by Herbert Raphael; in 1902 he gave the Canal and 15 acres of gardens to Romford UDC for a public park. Spoon Pond and further land was added, and Raphael Park opened to the public in 1904, its Lodge at the main entrance of that date. Other remnants of the earlier landscape include the sites of the former Vineyards and Pleasure Ground and there are a number of mature trees.