Inventory Site Record

The triangular site owned by the from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners was bought by the Fulham Vestry in 1891 in order to provide recreational space for the growing population in the area. Funding was received from the LCC and it opened as a Fulham Recreation Ground, its name later changed to Lillie Road Recreation Ground. The park originally had railings along the central path and a bandstand, gymnasium and gardens. An extension beyond the east wall was added as part of the redevelopment of the Fulham riverside in the 1970s, which has a grass area with raised beds and some play equipment.

Previous / Other name:

Fulham Recreation Ground

Site location:

Lillie Road, Fulham

Postcode:

SW6

What 3 Words:

bother.hooked.headed

Type of site:

Public Park

Borough:

Hammersmith & Fulham

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

7.30am - dusk

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Events:

Public transport:

Tube: Hammersmith (Piccadilly, Hammersmith & City, District) then bus. Bus: 74, 190, 211, 220, 295

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/04/2004

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.lbhf.gov.uk

The road and recreation ground get their name from Sir John Scott Lillie, a veteran of the Peninsular War who owned land in Fulham and began development of what is the eastern end of Lillie Road in 1826. He lived at a house called The Hermitage set in extensive grounds on the corner of Lillie and North End Road, later built over by coal yards. Lillie was also an inventor and responsible for an early machine gun, which became known as the Lillie Rifle. A gardener called Sandell once had a business here, resulting in it gaining the name Sandell's Corner. In the C17th the land where the recreation ground was later laid out was an orchard and gravel pits in the ownership Lady Pye, whose son Sir Nicholas Crispe was a wealthy trader in goods and slaves. Crispe built Brandenburgh House on the Fulham riverside, and after his death in 1666 at his behest his embalmed heart was buried in Hammersmith chapel-at-ease, later St Paul's Hammersmith (q.v.), although his body was buried at St Mildred's Bread Street, only reunited when St Mildred's churchyard was cleared in 1898 and his remains brought to Hammersmith.

The recreation ground is extensively used for sport as a result of which the grass has suffered and there are large tracts of asphalt. A mural on the sports centre was repainted in July 1996. On the north-west corner of the site is a kiosk and public conveniences, the lodge now used for alternative healthcare. There are good London plane trees in the park. The railings along Fulham Palace Road were set back to produce a grass verge along the road and shrubs are now being planted in the area.

Sources consulted:

LB Hammersmith & Fulham Archives Dept, 'A note on the open spaces of Fulham and Hammersmith', 1974 p13; Barbara Denny

Grid ref:

TQ238774 (523882,177460)

Size in hectares:

3.39

Site ownership:

LB Hammersmith & Fulham

Site management:

Environment Department, Parks Service (ground maintenance by Quadron Services)

Date(s):

1891; 1970s extension

Designer(s):

Local authority

Listed structures:

None

On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

No

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

No

Local Authority Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

No

Tree Preservation Order:

No

Nature Conservation Area:

No

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

Local Park; Open Space of Borough-wide Importance