Whitehall Recreation Ground

Whitehall Recreation Ground came into being as a result of the vision of the Aldermen and Councillors of Bromley, who were witness to the massive wave of development spreading out from Bromley town centre. Soon after it was established in 1894, one of the first acts of Bromley Urban District Council was to try and secure a recreation ground for the inhabitants of Bromley Common and Bickley. Several sites were considered and rejected as being too small, but eventually three fields totalling 14 acres became available and were purchased by the Council for £6,500. These belonged to Whitehall Farm, from which the park takes its name. Over the winter of 1904-5 the fields were levelled, and drainage was installed, using unemployed men as labour; trees were planted along the paths, and public toilets were provided. The new park had two main entrances, at Cowper/Walpole Road and at Southlands Road. The cost of the work was reported as £1,100, and by the summer of 1905 it was ready for its grand opening: "Ten carriages conveyed the Mayor and other dignitaries to the Recreation Ground, to be greeted by flags, bunting, and the Bromley Borough Silver Prize band, together with the Bickley Brass band. There was a temporary pavilion for the event, and displays by the St Luke's gymnastic class, along with demonstrations by the Bromley Fire Brigade and St John's Ambulance, and after the speeches had been made and refreshments consumed, the bands played on into the evening." In his opening speech, the Mayor said "I look forward to the time when..... these trees which have been planted,  will have grown, and will provide more shade, and when the flowers will have made it more beautiful."

According to research by the Friends of Whitehall Recreation Ground: "Over the years the Rec developed ; the Bowling Club opened soon after and land had already been set aside for the Park Keepers Lodge on the corner of Walpole and Cowper Roads, and several plots were sold for houses on the Southlands Road boundary. Documentary evidence has proved hard to come by, but from local memory by the middle of last century we had tennis courts, four football pitches in winter and two cricket pitches in summer, with a wooden pavilion and storage huts for sports equipment. There was an ornamental water fountain at the Cowper/Walpole entrance, a large plank swing, a boating pool where the current playground is, two sets of toilets, and a building intended as a gas de-contamination unit, which was then used as a mother and baby clinic."

Over the years of the C20th the park appears to have gradually become neglected and gone into decline. The tennis courts were closed, the public toilets demolished, the boating pool infilled and replaced with play equipment, the clinic ceased to be used as such and was for a time used as changing facilities for youth football but later demolished. The East Ravensbourne river was culverted and now runs under the path from Blenheim Road to Baths Road.

The Friends of Whitehall Recreation Ground was established in 2005 and has since that time worked to restore the park. Its features now include a meadow, orchard, pond and hedgerows; bat, bird and insect boxes, and a stag beetle loggery have been installed, and thousands of bulbs as well as flower beds have been planted. The Friends also organise numerous events throughout the year.

The park is now managed by idverde UK, which in June 2015 was contracted by Bromley Council for the management of the borough's parks, green spaces and countryside service, a relationship that was extended in April 2019 for a further 16 years.

The Bowling Green in the south-west corner of the park, surrounded by privet hedge, was formerly managed by Bromley Common and Whitehall Ladies Bowling Club. In April 2019 the Hayes, Bromley and Keston Croquet Club re-located from Langley Park (q.v.) and took over the clubhouse and lawns of the Bromley Common Bowls Club. In November 2019 the club changed its name to Bromley Croquet Club.