Place    From 23/9/1891 

Croydon Road Recreation Ground

The land was purchased by the Beckenham Local Board to provide a public open space which had been lacking since the loss of the Fair Field for housing in the 1870s. The site was part of open farmland which stretched along Croydon Road, and it first came into use in the autumn of 1890, prior to its formal opening. It was the location for the first British public airmail flight in 1902, and houses a bandstand which is now named after David Bowie, following his appearance there at the Beckenham Arts Lab Growth Summer Festival in 1969.

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Croydon Road Recreation Ground

Commemorated ati

First British public airmail flight

{Around an illustration of a hot air balloon:} Croydon Road Recreation Ground...

Read More

Other Subjects

William Andrews Nesfield

William Andrews Nesfield

The Regent's Park plaque has the date of birth as 1794 but this contradicts all the other sources we have found, which have 1793. Nesfield was a significant Victorian garden designer who had a rep...

Person, Gardens / Agriculture

1 memorial
Charles Bridgeman

Charles Bridgeman

Landscape gardener.  As Royal Gardener 1726-38, he laid out Kensington Gardens for Queen Caroline.  Apart from when he was staying away on the job, he lived from 1723 to  his death at what is now 5...

Person, Gardens / Agriculture

3 memorials
Bishop Henry Compton

Bishop Henry Compton

Bishop of London from 1675 to 1713. Born Warwickshire. After a period in Charles II's army he chose the church and within 5 years was made a bishop and a member of the Privy Council. His strong op...

Person, Gardens / Agriculture, Religion

1 memorial
Queen's Park

Queen's Park

An information board in the Park gives "The area that is now Queen's Park was part of the site of the 1879 Royal Kilburn Agricultural Show, which had been attended by Queen Victoria, after which th...

Place, Gardens / Agriculture

1 memorial