History / Awards /
News and Events / Management
Plan / Friends of West Ham Park /
Contact us
West Ham Park has been owned and maintained by the City of
London since 1874, and at 77 acres, is the largest park in the
London Borough of Newham. Our aim has always been to provide a wide
range of facilities, together with a pleasant and relaxing
environment for all our visitors.
Our seven acre ornamental garden will lead you to a variety of
horticultural delights, whilst out in the park, a wide range of
recreational activities are available throughout the year including
sports, guided walks and entertainment on the bandstand in the
summer. We are also proud to be one of the few parks in the country
with our own nursery, supplying over 200 species of plant for
displays in the park, and a number of other open spaces in
London.
Open every day of the year,
patrolled by full time Park Keepers and supported by closed
circuit television, it's no wonder that our one million
visitors a year tell us they feel welcome and safe and that we
are ‘the most popular park in East London’.
The City of London is participating in the 'Million Voices'
campaign which aims to show public satisfaction towards the
country's parks and open spaces through the new GreenSTAT online
system. If you would like to comment on West Ham Park and
how well you feel it is being managed and maintained,
click here to complete the Park or Open
Space version of the GreenSTAT questionnaire.
History of West Ham
Park
Documents relating to the Park date back to 1566 and was
originally part of the Upton House estate, before being acquired in
1762 by philanthropist Dr John Fothergill. Encouraged to build a
botanical garden, Dr Fothergill would often waive his fees and
accept payment in rare plants instead.
After Dr Fothergill's death, the
Park passed into the hands of the Gurney family. When the
Gurney family wished to sell the estate during the 1860s,
local residents worked with the City of London and the family
to raise funds to purchase the site and enable it to be
preserved as open space.
West Ham Park was officially opened on 20 July 1874. The
ceremony was performed by the Lord Mayor of London and, as a band
played in the background, deeds of title were presented declaring
the Park “open public grounds and garden for adults, children and
youth” and that the City of London should maintain the Park forever
at its own expense.
This rich and diverse history has recently been recognised in
the park being listed as a Grade II site on the English Heritage
Register of Parks and Gardens of Specific Historic Interest in
England. To read the English Heritage report on the Park, follow
the link below:
West Ham Park is pleased to support the
London Parks Explorer project, which promotes
the importance of historic parks as an educational
resource.
Management Plan
West Ham Park Management Plan 2006-2011
A detailed five year plan for the Park has recently been
produced and adopted. A full version and summary are available
below:
Download the full version of the Management
plan (4mb)
Download the summary of the Management
plan (867kb)
Awards
Britain's Best Park!
West Ham Park was named the Best Park in the South East in
the 2005 Britain's Best Park competition. For more details see
www.britainsbestparks.co.uk/
Highly Commended by Horticulture
Week
West Ham Park was Highly Commended in two categories in the
first national Horticulture Week awards in 2005 - for Most
Outstanding Contribution to the Environment and Most Outstanding
Contribution to Training in Horticulture.
In making this recommendation, the judges reviewed the work the
Park has done to increase recycling and eliminate peat use, and
also its recent introduction of a Parks Apprentice post. For
further information on our work in these two areas please
email.
A Green Flag Park
West Ham Park has been awarded a Green Flag, an independently
judged award, organised by the Civic Trust and given annually to
the best parks and green spaces in England and Wales. More details
are available on the Green Flag website.
Investor in People
The West Ham Park team were recognised as an Investor in People
in April 2005.
News and Events
What’s New?
Our regular What's New update contains articles about current
issues, events and projects in the Park. Follow the link below to
see the current What's New or
email
us to request one or more of the previous updates.
Summer events programme
Each summer, we provide a full and varied entertainment
programme including free children’s entertainment, band concerts, a
paddling pool, bouncy castle and a range of sports coaching.
Details of this year's programme are available below.
Summer bands (303kb)
Childrens summer
entertainments (133kb)
Tennis coaching at West Ham Park
2008 (84kb)
Free guide to West Ham Park
Find out more about West Ham Park with this leaflet and map
which are available to download in pdf form, or for a printed copy,
please
email.
West Ham Park visitor survey
Find out what our visitors think about the Park from the results
of our last survey:
Friends of West Ham
Park
As part of the consultation process on the Management Plan, a
new Friends of West Ham Park group has recently been formed If you
would like any information on the Friends, including details on how
to become involved in volunteer projects,
please email
us.
Contact us
How to get to the park
To find out more or get involved
For more about the Park, including events information and
volunteering opportunities please phone 020 8472 3584 or
email.
For Committee documents
You can read the agendas, minutes, reports and resolutions of
the Open Spaces Committee by following this link to the
City of London’s committee database.
Problems in the park?
If you notice any faults - such as damaged signs, excessive
litter or obstructions on footpaths you can
report them and track
progress online.