Bedfords Park
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Bedfords Park is public open space of 215 acres or approximately 87½ hectares near
Havering-atte-Bower Havering-atte-Bower is a village and outlying settlement of Greater London, England. It is located in the far north of the London Borough of Havering, on the border with Essex, and is northeast of Charing Cross. It was one of three former par ...
in the
London Borough of Havering The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities are Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham. Th ...
in England. It is one of three large parklands around Havering-atte-Bower; the others are
Havering Country Park Havering Country Park is a varied environment open space in the London Borough of Havering. It includes of woodland. It is one of three large parklands in Havering-atte-Bower, the others are Bedfords Park and Pyrgo Park Pyrgo Park is a park ...
and
Pyrgo Park Pyrgo Park is a park at Havering-atte-Bower in the London Borough of Havering, in North East London, England. It is the site of the former Pirgo Palace, built before 1540 and demolished by 1814; and of Pyrgo House, built 1852, which lasted le ...
. Bedfords Park is a
Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI), Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) and regionally important geological site (RIGS) are designations used by local authorities in the United Kingdom for sites of substantive local nature ...
and a local nature reserve. It was awarded a
Green Flag Award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...
in 2007 which was maintained at least until 2013. The site is managed by
Havering Council The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities are Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham. The ...
and the visitor centre is managed by the
Essex Wildlife Trust The Essex Wildlife Trust (EWT) is one of 46 wildlife trusts which cover the United Kingdom. The EWT was founded in 1959, and it describes itself as Essex's leading conservation charity, which aims to protect wildlife for the future and the people ...
.


Geography

Bedfords Park is situated on a south-facing slope, the top of which is 110 metres above sea level and affords views over east London and across the
River 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 ...
to
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
. The highest part of the park is on a ridge capped by a patch of Chalky Boulder Clay and it is this that allows the Round Pond to retain water. The park is made up of mixed parkland and deciduous woods and is much narrower on the ridge while broadening as you move down the slope in a southerly direction. Vehicular access is gained on the north side of the park from Broxhill Road, while there is pedestrian access from Lower Bedfords Road on the southern edge of the park, and also using a permissive footpath from Orange Tree Hill.


History

The land that makes up Bedfords Park originates in the two adjoining estates of Bedfords, believed to be named after the family of Robert de Bedford mentioned in 1285 and John Bedford who held the land in 1362, and Earls which later became known as Upper Bedfords. The latter was taken from John Derewin in 1212 by King John as forfeiture for homicide and given to
William d'Aubigny, 3rd Earl of Arundel William d'Aubigny, 3rd Earl of Arundel, also called William de Albini IV, (before 1180 – 1 February 1221) was an English nobleman, a favourite of King John, and a participant in the Fifth Crusade. Lineage William was a son of William ...
for the annual rent of one Sparrowhawk. The manor, which is one of the olderst in Havering and was one of four held in serjeanty, remained in the family at least until the time of the 5th Earl. In 1452 Thomas Cooke (who was to become
Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...
10 years later) took possession of the manor of Bedfords, having already acquired the 'manor or messuage' of Earls, and held these as part of the
Gidea Hall Gidea Hall was a manor house in Gidea Park, the historic parish and Royal liberty of Havering-atte-Bower, whose former area today is part of the north-eastern extremity of Greater London. The first record of Gidea Hall is in 1250, and by 1410 ...
estate. This continued for 200 years until 1659 after which the properties changed hands several times, being briefly part of Gobions Manor, but by 1678 the two estates were held by Robert Wolley. After being sold out of Gobions Manor, the ownership was in the hands of various London merchants until 1771 when it was sold by Nathaniel Houlton to a Mr John Heaton. During this time there is no evidence of the owners living in either manor.


Bedford Park's mansion

John Heaton rebuilt the house at Bedfords as a two-storey brick mansion rendered with cement, and resided there until his death in 1818. Upper Bedfords (previously Earls) was also rebuilt during this time in a
crenelated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interv ...
style, including a tower which has often caused it to be mistaken for a
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...
. It was at this time (c. 1777) that the lane which had run from Broxhill Road to Lower Bedfords Road and going past Bedfords was closed by the owner. This is also the point at which today's park is recognisable as Chapman and Andre's survey of that time depicts the northern tree line, approach avenue, and park boundaries as they occur today. The property passed down two generations in the Heaton family, although it was let to tenants between 1826 and 1834. At this point the property again changed hands several times and was even listed in the Chelmsford Chronicle on 21 June 1867 (on page 4): It was purchased 3 years later from the mortgagee of the previous owner by Henry R. Stone in 1870. His son Henry J. Stone was the last lord of the manor, and although in parts, Bedfords was sold to Romford Urban District Council by his widow in 1933. Romford UDC opened the park to the public in 1934, and instituted a
museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...
in the house which locals seem to have referred to as Bedfords Mansion, this focussing on natural history and containing stuffed birds and animals from the local area. It was also around this time that a captive herd of
red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of we ...
were introduced. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
Bedfords House was used by the
Auxiliary Fire Service The Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) was first formed in 1938 in Great Britain as part of the Civil Defence Service. Its role was to supplement the work of brigades at local level. The Auxiliary Fire Service and the local brigades were superseded ...
and afterwards was used as the council archive but was gradually allowed to fall into disrepair until it was demolished in 1959. In the 1960s a cafe was built on the site of the house until this also fell out of use in the 1980s. Today the route of the public lane closed around 1777 can still be traced along the entrance drive, past the old stable block (the only part of the house to survive), and then down the slope to the east of the visitor centre, the whole being characterised by the avenue of mature Horse Chestnut trees. The site of the house is now occupied by a Visitor Centre run by Essex Wildlife Trust.


Queen Anne's Oak

This was an ancient oak tree that stood to the side of the mansion and the deer enclosure. The above is the earliest known photograph of the oak tree where legend has it, Queen Anne sat by this tree on her visits to the estate. That is why the estate took this concerted effort to help keep the tree alive for so long; including bricking around the base of the tree and bracing it with metal belts. It is also mentioned in the ''Romford Then and Now'' publication from 2005 where it mentions: A new oak tree was planted on the actual site of the tree to commemorate its memory in 2015.


See also

*
Havering parks and open spaces The London Borough of Havering is a London borough in northeast London, England. Part of Outer London, much of its area is protected from development by the Metropolitan Green Belt The Metropolitan Green Belt is a statutory green belt around ...


References


External links


Havering London Borough Council information about the parkPhotos
{{coord, 51.6086, 0.1920, type:landmark_region:GB-HAV, display=title Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Havering Local nature reserves in Greater London Essex Wildlife Trust