Mayesbrook Park is a 43 hectare public park in Dagenham in the

London Borough of Barking and Dagenham The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham () is a London borough in East London. It lies around 9 miles (14.4 km) east of Central London. It is an Outer London borough and the south is within the London Riverside section of the Thames ...

. It is owned and managed by the borough council. The southern end, which is mainly a large lake, is a Local Nature Reserve. The area covered by the park was once part of the historic

Manor of Jenkins Jenkins was a Manorialism, manor under the Lord, overlordship of Barking manor. It was also known as 'Dagenham' manor, 'Dagenhams' and 'Dagenham Place' throughout the centuries. Today, the once open area has been consumed by suburbia. The Manor ...

, seat of the Fanshawe family. For reasons which remain obscure, the park is sometimes nicknamed "Matchstick Island". The park, which was opened in 1934, was created to meet the need for open space for the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

's Becontree Housing Estate. The park has a car park, a children's play area, football pitches, a cricket pitch and pavilion, an athletic track, tennis courts, basketball court, and lakes. The Mayesbrook Park project has used

green infrastructure Green infrastructure or blue-green infrastructure refers to a network that provides the “ingredients” for solving urban and climatic challenges by building with nature.Hiltrud Pötz & Pierre Bleuze (2011). Urban green-blue grids for sustainab ...

engineering to address flood water management needs. The southern end has two large lakes which are rich in wildlife, newly planted woodland and rough grassland. The Mayes Brook runs along the western edge. There is access from Lodge Avenue. Mayesbrook is also a ward of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 10,342.

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* * * {{Parks and open spaces in London Nature reserves in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Local nature reserves in Greater London Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham