Wanstead Park is a municipal park covering an area of about 140 acres (57 hectares), in Wanstead, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It is also a district of the London Borough of Redbridge, which was in Essex until 1965.
It is administered as part of Epping Forest by the City of London Corporation, having been purchased by the Corporation in 1880 from Henry Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley. Today's park once formed part of the deer park of the former manor house of ancient Wanstead Manor, which included much of the urbanised area now known as Wanstead. The present park retains some of the layout of its former existence as Wanstead House's grounds, though the park's western boundary lies some 330 yards east of the house's site. In 1992 a Management Plan was initiated to try to re-establish something of the formality of the grounds of a "Great House".
The park is Grade II* listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. [1]
The park is bordered to the north by the A12 road, to the east by the River Roding and A406 North Circular Road, to the south by the Aldersbrook Estate, the site of the former Wanstead Sewage Works and the City of London Cemetery and Crematorium and to the west by Wanstead Golf Course.
The park is approached from Wanstead in the north via Warren Road. The road at the entrance to the Park is not under the management of the local council, and the un-surfaced section of it, which separates the park from the golf course, ends at a well-known landmark by the Heron pond called the "Posts". Along the east side of the unmade road there are several entrances to the park. One leads to the Glade, a broad grassy ride cut through the woodland and running in a direct easterly line from the former site of the house - it extends five hundred yards due east down to the Ornamental Pond. The other main entrance for pedestrians is at the north-east corner of the park, from Wanstead Park Road south of Redbridge tube station, via the footpath crossing the busy A406 North Circular Road.
In late April the Chalet Wood is awash with flowering bluebells. The Temple is open every weekend with displays on the history of Wanstead Park including finds excavated from the 18th-century grotto and the 'Lost Roman Villa'. Entrance is free and there is also a shop offering free leaflets on Epping Forest, other guides and booklets, as well as traditional toys and other attractive items. The City of London Corporation runs a programme of events at the Temple and its surrounds, including family craft days, open-air theatre and musical performances. The City of London website provides further details. Another event is Music in Wanstead Park, which is held at the beginning of summer. The event is organised by the Aldersbrook Families Association. Fishing is permitted on the Ornamental Waters and the Perch Pond, but only in season.
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Trees include a 346-year-old European oak, which in 2020 was dying and losing branches, a further 330 to 340-year-old European oak, a 280 to 300-year-old wych elm, a Eurasian aspen, and a 465 to 480-year-old European yew. Many European beech trees are over 200 years old. Areas contain common rhododendron, which is considered invasive in Britain. [2] There are areas of grassland, and broadleaved woodland with glades. Bluebells grow in the woods, and common gorse along one lake. Fauna includes Eastern gray squirrels, red foxes, Canada geese, and mute swans. Parakeets are evident in the Summer.[ citation needed ]
Recently introduced paths have opened up further areas of the park. Soil degradation is common because of high levels of human activity, with litter a further problem. The lakes often dry out in summer, leading to less aquatic life.[ citation needed ]
Snaresbrook is a district in the London Borough of Redbridge, in East London. It is located eight miles east of Charing Cross.
Wanstead is an area in East London, England, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It borders South Woodford to the north, Redbridge to the east and Forest Gate to the south, with Leytonstone and Walthamstow to the west. It is located 8 miles northeast of Charing Cross.
The London Borough of Redbridge is a London borough established in 1965.
Leytonstone is an area in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, Stratford to the south-west, Leyton to the west, and Walthamstow to the north-west, and is 7 miles (11 km) north-east of Charing Cross.
Epping Forest is a 2,400-hectare (5,900-acre) area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London built-up area. South of Chingford the forest narrows, and forms a green corridor that extends deep into east London, as far as Forest Gate; the forest's position gives rise to its nickname, the Cockney Paradise. It is the largest forest in London.
Woodford Green is an area of Woodford in East London, England, within the London Borough of Redbridge. It adjoins Buckhurst Hill to the north, Woodford Bridge to the east, South Woodford to the south, and Chingford to the west. Epping Forest runs through Woodford Green in the west of the area, 9.4 miles (15.1 km) north-east of Charing Cross.
South Woodford is an area of East London, England, within the London Borough of Redbridge. It adjoins Woodford Green to the north, Walthamstow to the west, Snaresbrook and Wanstead to the south and Redbridge to the east, and is 8.9 miles (14.3 km) north-east of Charing Cross. Epping Forest runs adjacent to South Woodford in the west of the area.
The River Roding rises at Molehill Green, Essex, England, then flows south through Essex and London and forms Barking Creek as it reaches the River Thames.
The Eastern Avenue is one of the main roads leading out of London. The 10-mile (16 km) road is part of the A12, a 129-mile road connecting Blackwall in London with the seaside town of Lowestoft in Suffolk.
The London Borough of Redbridge, one of the north-eastern peripheral London boroughs, has within its boundaries parts of two large open spaces: Epping Forest and Wanstead Flats. Apart from many smaller parks, gardens and sports grounds, the following are the main open spaces in Redbridge:
Wanstead Flats is the southernmost portion of Epping Forest, in Leytonstone and Wanstead, London. The flats and by extension the forest ends at Forest Gate directly to the south. It now falls wholly within the boundaries of the London Boroughs of Redbridge and Waltham Forest, though until 1994 two parts of it were in the London Borough of Newham: one of these was the section between Aldersbrook Road and Capel Road east of the junction between Aldersbrook Road and St Margaret's Road, whilst the other was the strip running along Capel Road between its junctions with Centre Road and Ridley Road. As part of Epping Forest, the Flats is managed by the City of London Corporation.
Wanstead and Woodford was a constituency in North East London, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency existed from the 1964 general election until it was abolished in the 1997 general election.
Wanstead House was a mansion built to replace the earlier Wanstead Hall. It was commissioned in 1715, completed in 1722 and demolished in 1825. Its gardens now form the municipal Wanstead Park in the London Borough of Redbridge.
Aldersbrook, is an Edwardian housing estate in Wanstead, East London. It is named after the medieval Manor of Aldersbrook the manor itself was named after the Alders Brook, a minor river which marks part of the boundary between the London Boroughs of Newham and Redbridge.
Woodford is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Redbridge. It is located 9.5 miles (15.3 km) north-east of Charing Cross. Woodford historically formed an ancient parish in the county of Essex. It contained a string of agrarian villages and was part of Epping Forest. From about 1700 onwards, it became a place of residence for affluent people who had business in London; this wealth, together with its elevated position, has led to it being called the Geographical and social high point of East London. Woodford was suburban to London and after being combined with Wanstead in 1934 it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1937. It has formed part of Greater London since 1965 and comprises the neighbourhoods of Woodford Green, Woodford Bridge, Woodford Wells and South Woodford. The area is served by two stations on the Central line of the London Underground: Woodford and South Woodford.
Wanstead Manor was a manor, historically in the English county of Essex and now in the London Borough of Redbridge. It centred on the manorhouse of Wanstead Hall, later demolished to build Wanstead House.
Wanstead Hall was the manor house for the Manor of Wanstead, now in the London Borough of Redbridge but historically in the county of Essex. It was later demolished to make way for the construction of Wanstead House.
Wanstead Roman Villa was a Roman villa on an unknown site in what is now Wanstead Park. Archaeological excavations carried out in 1985 indicated a Roman presence here from the 1st to the 5th century AD, but did not locate any specific site of a Roman villa.
Wanstead Sewage Works, also known as Redbridge (Southern) Sewage Works or Empress Sewage Works, was a municipal sewage treatment works located on a site bounded by the River Roding to the east and Wanstead Park to the north, in the south eastern corner of the parish of Wanstead, in the London Borough of Redbridge, historically within the county of Essex, England. It was in operation from 1 March 1884 to December 1977.