The London Borough of Newham, in spite of being one of the more crowded areas of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, has over 20 parks within its boundaries, as well as smaller recreation grounds. The larger parks in the Borough include: * Beckton District Park North * Beckton District Park South * Central Park, East Ham * East Ham Nature Reserve *

King George V Park King George V Park is a soccer-specific stadium in St. John's, Newfoundland, located at the head of Quidi Vidi Lake in downtown St. John's. The stadium was built in 1925 as the National stadium of Newfoundland. It is the oldest surviving socce ...

, Custom House * Memorial Recreation Ground, one-time home of

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

and its predecessor Thames Ironworks * Stratford Park * The

Thames Barrier Park The Thames Barrier Park is a park in Silvertown in the London Borough of Newham and is named after its location on the north side of the River Thames next to the Thames Barrier The Thames Barrier is a retractable barrier system built t ...

2005 riverside park, developed following an international competition won by a team led by the acclaimed French landscape architect,

Alain Provost Allain Provost is a French landscape architect. His works include designs for the Parc Floral in the Bois de Vincennes, Paris, Parc André Citroën in Paris, the Jardin Diderot at La Défense, La Courneuve Park (1972–2000) in Seine-Saint-Denis, ...

, best known for his work at the Parc Citroen in Paris. *

West Ham Park West Ham Park is a privately owned public park in West Ham in the London Borough of Newham. Spanning , it is the largest park in the borough. The park has been managed by the City of London Corporation since 1874. Records from 1566 show that th ...

* Lister Gardens, Plaistow * Plashet Park,

Forest Gate Forest Gate is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England. It is located northeast of Charing Cross. The area's name relates to its position adjacent to Wanstead Flats, the southernmost part of Epping Forest. The town ...

Newham is a riverside borough, and one of the largest open spaces is the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

itself. A riverside path exists, but flood prevention works can often make river views problematic. Other features: * The Royal Docks comprise three docks—the Royal Albert Dock, the Royal Victoria Dock and the King George V Dock—built between 1880 and 1921 on riverside marshes. The three docks collectively formed the largest enclosed docks in the world with a water area of nearly 250 acres (1 km²) and an overall estate of 1100 acres (4 km²). The docks were constructed to provide berths for large vessels that could not be accommodated further upriver. The Royal Docks were finally closed for shipping in 1981. * The River Lea forms the western boundary of the borough. The

towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport w ...

is suitable for walking and cyclists. It can be readily accessed from

Three Mills The Three Mills are former working mills and an island of the same name on the River Lea. It is one of London’s oldest extant industrial centres. The mills lie in the London Borough of Newham, but despite lying on the Newham side of the Lea, ...

and provides access to Hackney Marshes and the Lee Valley Park. * The Greenway is a shared footpath and

cycleway Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except wher ...

running along the route of the

Northern Outfall Sewer The Northern Outfall Sewer (NOS) is a major gravity sewer which runs from Wick Lane in Hackney to Beckton sewage treatment works in east London; most of it was designed by Joseph Bazalgette after an outbreak of cholera in 1853 and the "Great ...

. It runs south-east from Wick Lane in Bow; through Stratford and Plaistow in

Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the ...

. The route crosses a number of roads, but is otherwise traffic free. * The

City of London Cemetery and Crematorium The City of London Cemetery and Crematorium is a cemetery and crematorium in the east of London. It is owned and operated by the City of London Corporation. It is designated Grade I on the Historic England National Register of Historic Parks and ...

is in the north-east of the borough. In 1998, the council set up a controversial new police force, the Newham Parks Constabulary, to police these parks. The force was renamed the Newham Community Constabulary and was subjected to an investigation into

abuse of power Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

and corruption, following considerable coverage in '' Private Eye''. The force was disbanded in July 2009.

References

External links

List of parks in Newham
{{London-geo-stub

See also

References

External links