Croydon Road Recreation Ground is a public park in

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965, it was part of Kent. It is situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west ...

in the

London Borough of Bromley The London Borough of Bromley () is a London Borough, borough in London, England. It is the largest and southeasternmost borough in London, and borders the county of Kent, of which it formed part until 1965. The borough's population in the 2021 ...

. It is near the High St and adjacent to Beckenham Beacon. The park features a café and

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an ornamen ...

, as well as a

bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

and other sports facilities. The park was laid out by the Sydenham firm Reid and Bornemann in 1890 and was formally opened on 23 September 1891. The UK's first manned airmail flight left from here in 1902, travelling to

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

hot air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carri ...

The event was held to celebrate the coronation of King Edward VII. The crew were A E Gaudron, a French balloonist and Dr. Barton, a local medical practitioner. Mail was dropped at three points in Kent before the balloon itself then crossed the Channel before landing near Calais. On 16 August 1969

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

helped organise and played at the Growth Summer Festival a one-day festival that played from the bandstand in the park. Now known as the Bowie Bandstand, it was built by the McCallum and Hope Iron Foundry of Glasgow and erected in 1905. It was listed Grade II on the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, ...

in 2019 as a "rare and substantial example of cast-iron work" by the McCallum and Hope Iron Foundry, and for its association with Bowie. On 15 September 2013, the park hosted a "Memory of a Free Festival" event, commemorating the 1969 festival. Lodge of Croydon Road Recreation Ground (01).jpg, Victorian gate lodge, part of a Grade II–listed structure Southwest Gate to Croydon Road Recreation Ground (01).jpg, Western entrance gate, listed as Grade II with the lodge Bowie Bandstand, Croydon Road Recreation Ground (02).jpg, Bowie Bandstand, separately Grade II–listed North Field of Croydon Road Recreation Ground (01).jpg, North field with tower of St. Edmund of Canterbury church Airmail Balloon Flight plaque.jpg, Plaque commemorating airmail balloon flight

References

External links

The Friends of Croydon Road Recreation Ground
Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Bromley 1891 establishments in England 1891 in London {{London-geo-stub