The Green Chain friends groups are local people that are passionate

about the green spaces along the green chain. They are dog walkers,

children, parents, residents, youth clubs, and local businesses. A friends

group is the voice of the local community; they are involved in a wide

variety of activities to promote the positive use, enjoyment and

improvement of their local park. There are numerous friends groups

across London all making positive difference along the green chain.

 

This is 'The Green Chain Walk' that passes through your local parks.

 

A. Stumps Hill

 

From Stumps Hill Lane there is an excellent view across to Crystal Palace. It is also worth a slight detour to the junction of Southend Road and Brackley Road to see a very rare Edward VIII pillar box made at Carron Ironworks. Edward VIII reigned for only 10 months before abdicating.

 

B. St. Paul's Church

 

St. Paul’s was built as the Cator Estate church and originally stood in open country, with the nearest houses over 150 yards away. The first houses in the area were built in the early 1860s. The occupants were very wealthy and included many admirals, generals and knights.

 

C. Copers Cope Road

 

One of the largest farms on the Cator Estate was Copers Cope Farm; it covered 250 acres. The origins of the name are obscure but it may be derived from Cooper’s Copse. The names of the fields on the farm were enshrined in road names when the Cator Estate was being developed: Park, Lawn, Brackley and Worsley were all field names.

 

D. Mid Kent Line

 

The first station at New Beckenham was built in 1864 further south - the original site can still be seen. There is a small cottage beside the track which is now used as railwaymen’s accommodation and the remains of the platform can also be discerned. The present station was opened in 1904.

 

E. New Beckenham Sports Ground

 

Many of the major banks and financial institutions have their sports grounds here. Most of the sports grounds which are now so familiar a part of the area were laid out from 1900 to 1910.

 

F. Cator Park

 

Originally a private land on the Cator Estate, it was opened to the public in 1932. The Pool River flows northwards through the park eventually joining the River Ravensbourne at Catford. This area, together with much of the rest of South London, suffered bombing during the Second World War. The house on the corner of Kings Hall Road and Aldersmead Road was the only one of a pair of semi-detached houses to survive.

 

G. Kent House Farm

 

The area derives its name from a 178 acre farm, close to the old boundary between Kent and Surrey. The farmhouse which stood to the right of Kent House Road near Beckett Walk dated back to 1240, but was demolished in the 1950s.

 

H. Alexandra Recreation Ground

 

This Victorian suburban Recreation Ground was named after Queen Alexandra, King Edward VII’s wife, and was opened to the public in 1891.

 

I. Penge Almshouses

 

The King William IV Naval Asylum founded in 1847 was paid for by Queen Adelaide to provide accommodation for widows of naval officers. The Asylum is in a Tudor style which was popular at the time.

 

J. Railway Bridges

 

The first bridge carries one of the oldest railway lines in London, the London and Croydon Railway which opened in 1839. In its early days, the railway was operated by the then fashionable but short lived system of atmospheric traction, whereby air was exhausted from a continuous pipe between the rails by pumping engines at intervals which pushed trains along at considerable speed. The second bridge carries the line from Sydenham to Crystal Palace (low level) station and opened in 1854.