NEWS!
AGM 11th July, see Events page.
New Beckenham Place
Trust being formed, see The Future page.
Would
you like a
sensory garden in Beckenham Place?
Please
answer our questionnaire, click
on this
text to open the .pdf file.
Print, complete and return to us or
email your answers and views.
Park Features:
Childrens play area,
Ornamental gardens
Ancient
Woodland
Picnic areas,
Nature Trail and Riverside Walk
Green Chain and Capital Ring
Walk,
Pay and Play 18 hole public
golf course
A wide variety of
flora and fauna.
The 'first time' or occasional
visitor to BPP may not appreciate its
true extent. The Park lies on the Lewisham/Bromley border strictly
speaking between Downham, Bellingham, Beckenham and Shortlands.
It
was
acquired from the Cator Estate by the LCC circa 1927, passed through
the hands of the GLC and then on to the London Borough of Lewisham. A
'well kept secret' from many Londoners, the park has been thought of as
a private golf course or private house and grounds as it is not widely
publicised. It does lie on the Green Chain Walk and Capital Ring. A
railway bisects the park and the only routes joining both parts are the
bridge north of woodland called the Ash Plantation or by leaving and
re-entering the park in the viscinity of Ravensbourne Railway Station.
Hence the railway effectively divides the park into West and East.
Beckenham Place Park is
the surviving nucleus of what was once a large
estate.
The history of the park and its
environs is extensive and is
covered in other Friends publications. Information is available in the
Friends of BPP Visitor Centre (see navigation hyperlink).
The park's life as a public
recreation area began around 1927/29 when the park was purchased by the
London County Council and London Borough of Lewisham to satisfy a need
for public open space in the area as the large housing estates of
Bellingham and Downham were being developed.
The
historic and 'listed'
buildings in the park include The Mansion, The Stables and Homesteads
(and Garden Cottage), Southend Lodge (gatehouse).
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