Elmhurst Gardens

Elmhurst Gardens, in South Woodford, is a park with a variety of mature trees which provide a ’vista’ of colours particularly during autumn months.

Sited on George Lane, South Woodford station is one of the most used suburban stations on the Central Line.
Credit: User unknown/public domain

Also known as Gordon Fields, the gardens have notable beech, oak and lime, and retain much of the original layout as well as a picturesque brick sundial and small pavilion, and an area of formal planting with seats.

The park is laid out on land once part of Elmhurst Estate, acquired by Woodford UDC in 1921. The gardens were opened in July 1927 as Woodford Recreation Ground. The land was purchased from Mr Lister Harrison of Elmhurst, having been separated from the house and remainder of the estate by the railway in 1856.

There is a resting area in the centre of the park that was landscaped in the 2010s and planted with shrubs and bulbs to provide an abundance of colour.

Elmhurst Gardens has a bowling green (where South Woodford Bowls Club plays), a children’s play area, an outdoor gym and tennis courts.

Main source:	Redbridge - Woodford and South Woodford
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Tony Whipple Frank Whipple Place, E14 Added: 16 Apr 2024 21:35 GMT	Frank Whipple Place, E14 Frank was my great-uncle, I’d often be ’babysat’ by Peggy while Nan and Dad went to the pub. Peggy was a marvel, so full of life. My Dad and Frank didn’t agree on most politics but everyone in the family is proud of him. A genuinely nice, knowledgable bloke. One of a kind. Reply
Theresa Penney Whites Row, E1 Added: 16 Apr 2024 18:08 GMT	1 Whites Row My 2 x great grandparents and his family lived here according to the 1841 census. They were Dutch Ashkenazi Jews born in Amsterdam at the beginning of the 19th century but all their children were born in Spitalfields. Reply
Wendy The Polygon Added: 22 Mar 2024 15:33 GMT	Polygon Buildings Following the demolition of the Polygon, and prior to the construction of Oakshott Court in 1974, 4 tenement type blocks of flats were built on the site at Clarendon Sq/Phoenix Rd called Polygon Buildings. These were primarily for people working for the Midland Railway and subsequently British Rail. My family lived for 5 years in Block C in the 1950s. It seems that very few photos exist of these buildings. Reply
Steve Charleville Circus, SE26 Added: 19 Mar 2024 08:42 GMT	Road construction and houses completed New Charleville Circus road layout shown on Stanford’s Library Map Of London And Its Suburbs 1879 with access via West Hill only. Plans showing street numbering were recorded in 1888 so we can concluded the houses in Charleville Circus were built by this date. Source: Charleville Circus, Sydenham, London Reply
Steve Charleville Circus, SE26 Added: 19 Mar 2024 08:04 GMT	Charleville Circus, Sydenham: One Place Study (OPS) One Place Study’s (OPS) are a recent innovation to research and record historical facts/events/people focused on a single place �’ building, street, town etc. I have created an open access OPS of Charleville Circus on WikiTree that has over a million members across the globe working on a single family tree for everyone to enjoy, for free, forever. Source: Charleville Circus, Sydenham, London Reply
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NH Woodgrange Road, E7 Added: 7 Mar 2024 11:41 GMT	Telephone House Donald Hunter House, formerly Telephone House, was the BT Offices closed in 2000 Reply
Paul Cox Aldine Street, W12 Added: 5 Mar 2024 22:18 GMT	War damage reinstatement plans of No’s 11 & 13 Aldine Street Whilst clearing my elderly Mothers house of general detritus, I’ve come across original plans (one on acetate) of No’s 11 & 13 Aldine Street. Might they be of interest or should I just dispose of them? There are 4 copies seemingly from the one single acetate example. Seems a shame to just junk them as the level of detail is exquisite. No worries if of no interest, but thought I’d put it out there. Reply

LOCAL PHOTOS

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Monkhams Farm, Woodford Green (1905) Between the wars, as the families of the local gentry moved out, their homes were pulled down and the grounds laid out for housing estates. On the Monkhams estate, while the southern part had been developed by 1914, the remaining part was completed in garden-suburb style during the 1930s. Old London postcard TUM image id: 1636124325 Licence:	The Eagle on Hollybush Hill, Snaresbrook. The painting is a James Pollard from the early 19th century, one of two he painted of the Eagle Credit: James Pollard TUM image id: 1620147625 Licence:	The Cricketers, Woodford Green This local landmark started being used as a public house just before 1848, with it being first listed as a ’beer house’ that year. TUM image id: 1620148773 Licence:	The George, on the corner of George Lane and High Road, South Woodford Old London postcard TUM image id: 1636132493 Licence:	Woodford Green at the top of Salway Hill Old London postcard TUM image id: 1629993244 Licence:
The Highams Park Estate was an estate of 176 prefabs which existed between 1947 and 1961. All 20 roads on the estate were dug up and Highams Park itself restored. Credit: Walthamstow Memories TUM image id: 1642002174 Licence: CC BY 2.0	The Highams Park Estate was an estate of 176 prefabs which existed between 1947 and 1961. All 20 roads on the estate were dug up and Highams Park itself restored. Credit: Walthamstow Memories TUM image id: 1642002174 Licence: CC BY 2.0	"The Railway Station", George Lane (later South Woodford on the Central Line) in its Eastern Railways era (c.1910) Old London postcard TUM image id: 1636124568 Licence:	A typical post-war prefab, coloured in magnolia and green Credit: Wiki Commons/Rudi Winter TUM image id: 1642090128 Licence: CC BY 2.0	Hermon Hill on the Snaresbrook/Wanstead border (undated) Old London postcard TUM image id: 1620668549 Licence:
The Highams Park Estate was an estate of 176 prefabs which existed between 1947 and 1961. All 20 roads on the estate were dug up and Highams Park itself restored. Credit: Walthamstow Memories TUM image id: 1642002174 Licence: CC BY 2.0	Advert from the 1933 edition of Kelly’s Directory of Leytonstone, Wanstead and Snaresbrook. The development of Nightingale Farm had started by 1933 - they were advertising properties for sale there from £795. TUM image id: 1620150689 Licence:	Grove Cottage, on the corner of Leicester Road and George Lane (now Nutter Lane), Wanstead (1907) Oliver S. Dawson, author of ’The Story of Wanstead Park’, spent his later years in Firtree Cottage on George Lane. Both Grove Cottage - which was Wanstead’s oldest building - and Firtree Cottage have since been demolished. Old London postcard TUM image id: 1630072026 Licence:	Quiet hours on the Underground Credit: London Transport Museum TUM image id: 1636125573 Licence:	The Highams Park Estate was an estate of 176 prefabs which existed between 1947 and 1961. All 20 roads on the estate were dug up and Highams Park itself restored. Credit: Walthamstow Memories TUM image id: 1642002174 Licence: CC BY 2.0

In the neighbourhood...

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"The Railway Station", George Lane (later South Woodford on the Central Line) in its Eastern Railways era (c.1910)
Old London postcard
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Fog at South Woodford station
Credit: LNER
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