West Ham Park

Coordinates: 51°32′21″N 0°1′4″E / 51.53917°N 0.01778°E / 51.53917; 0.01778

West Ham Park

West Ham Park is a public park in the London Borough of Newham. Spanning 77 acres (31 ha), it is the largest park in the borough. The park has been managed by the City of London Corporation since 1874.^[1]

Records from 1566 show that the park had been a part of the estate of Upton House, later known as Ham House. The site was acquired in 1762 by John Fothergill who created a sizeable botanical garden, which had been described as 'second only to Kew'. He would often accept rare plants in lieu of his fees as a physician. After Fothergill's death in 1780, the gardens were largely sold off.^[2][3]

The estate was sold to James Sheppard in 1787, and after his death was purchased by Samuel Gurney, his son-in-law, in 1812. During this period, Gurney's sister, Elizabeth Fry, resided there. It was later passed to John Gurney, who lived in Norfolk at had no use for the estate. Ham House was demolished in 1872. In 1874, John Gurney gave a large contribution towards the purchase of the Ham House estate and grounds by the Corporation of the City of London, to serve as a public open space.^[3]

The venue was the site of the first ever FA Cup goal, scored by Jarvis Kenrick for Clapham Rovers in a 3–0 victory over Upton Park on 11 November 1871.^[4]

The park features ornamental gardens,^[5] children's playgrounds, and sporting facilities including five-a-side football pitches, cricket nets and tennis courts.^[6] There is also a nursery that is one of the largest operations of its kind in the UK, producing over 200,000 spring and summer bedding plants each year for the park, gardens and churchyards in the City of London and other Corporation open spaces. Plants grown in the nursery are also used for state occasions and banquets hosted by the City of London Corporation.

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