Forster Memorial Park, is a public park in
London Borough of Lewisham
Lewisham ( ) is a London boroughs, London borough in south-east London, England. It forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham. The local authority is Lewisham London Borough Council, based in Catford. The ...
. It takes up the land between Bellingham Road and Whitefoot Lane,
Catford
Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green (ward), Rushey Green and Catford South Ward (electoral subdivi ...
– the park and surrounding roads form Southend or Southend Village. The nearest stations are
Bellingham and
Beckenham Hill.
History of the park
The land where the park now stands was donated by
H.W. Forster, first
MP for
Bromley
Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023.
Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...
and later
Governor-General of Australia. The Forster family had lived at Southend Hall from the early 19th century (now demolished, but located near the junction of Bromley Road and Whitefoot Lane) and had a large estate covering what was then a rural outpost of London in the county of
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
. The land for the park was donated in memory of H.W. Forster’s two sons, Alfred and John Forster, who died in
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, and was formally opened by his daughter in 1922.
The park was expanded again in 1937, when further land to the north was bought from the Forster Estate Company.
Layout and notable features
The park, which is accessed from Whitefoot Lane, extends to and is unusual for an urbanised area in that its central area of open grassland is surrounded by
relict ancient woodland. This wood includes
ash,
hornbeam
Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperateness, temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Common names
The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives ...
and
oak
An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
trees. The woodland’s shrub layer has been found to include some
wild service tree, a rare species in the UK that is almost exclusively found in ancient woods and hedgerows.
The area has been managed since 1999 by the borough’s environmental taskforce. Their work includes removal of invasive species, such as
sycamore
Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the Ancient Greek () meaning .
Species of otherwise unrelated trees known as sycamore:
* ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', a ...
, and restoration of a more natural landscape.
The park includes a children’s play area,
BMX track, cycle route and
cycling proficiency area and a football pitch.
There is an active Friends of Forster Memorial Park.
See also
*
Excalibur Estate
References
External sources
History of Southend Village, including historic maps
{{Parks and open spaces in London
Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Lewisham
Downham, London
Protected areas established in 1922
1922 establishments in England