Wanstead Park

Wanstead Park is a municipal park of about 57 hectares in Wanstead, within the London Borough of Redbridge. It was once part of the deer park for Wanstead Manor, a large estate that covered much of the area now called Wanstead. The City of London Corporation bought the land in 1880 from Henry Wellesley, the first Earl Cowley. The park still shows traces of the formal gardens that once surrounded Wanstead House. In 1992 a plan began to restore some of the original grand garden layouts. The park holds Grade II* status on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. It sits between the A12 road to the north and the River Roding to the east. The Aldersbrook Estate borders the south, while Wanstead Golf Course lies to the west. The park is reached from Warren Road in the north, where an unsurfaced track leads to the Heron pond and its well-known landmark called the ‘Posts’. A broad grassy ride called the Glade runs east from the former house site down to the Ornamental Pond. Visitors find a mix of broadleaved woodland, glades and grassland. Bluebells flower in Chalet Wood each April, and ancient trees include a 346-year-old European oak and a 465 to 480-year-old yew. The park’s lakes support Canada geese, mute swans and grey squirrels, while parakeets appear in summer. The Temple building offers weekend displays on local history, including finds from an 18th-century grotto and a lost Roman villa. Fishing is allowed on the Ornamental Waters and Perch Pond in season.