Inventory Site Record

Canning Town Recreation Ground came into being following local pressure for West Ham Borough Council to provide a recreation ground for this rapidly developing area. Originally known as Beckton Park, it was opened in June 1894 by the then Mayor of West Ham, Alderman J H Bethell. It was designed by the MPGA landscape gardener and consisted of three areas united by two east-west walks: a formal area in the north-west with a bandstand, various tree-lined walks, and shrubberies, with a lodge, refreshments pavilion, drinking fountain and toilets. In the north-east was a gymnasium and an open-air swimming pool, the latter built by private subscription; and in the south-east was an open sports area. Various facilities were added, others were replaced, such as the Lido replacing the pool, itself now gone.

Previous / Other name:

Beckton Park

Site location:

Prince Regent Lane/Freemasons Road

Postcode:

E16 3PB

What 3 Words:

placed.type.crust

Type of site:

Public Park

Borough:

Newham

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

dawn to dusk

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Five-a-side football goal; floodlit multi-use games court; play area; tennis courts, Trim trail

Events:

Public transport:

Tube: Plaistow (District, Hammersmith & City), Canning Town then bus. DLR: Prince Regent, Custom House then bus. Bus: 147, 241, 300, 325, 473

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

28/02/2026

Last minor changes:

06/03/2026

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.newham.gov.uk/EntertainmentandLeisure/ParksInNewham/ParksA-Z

The park was laid out on former marsh pastureland that covered much of this area. The marshland was opened up to industrial development in the mid C19th after the railway from Stratford to North Woolwich was constructed, an undertaking by engineer George P Bidder. He then purchased the area between Bow Creek and Galleons Reach, part of which was sold for the Royal Docks. Factories began to be built along the riverside, attracted here not only by the rail and river links but also because it was outside the area governed by London's employment and building laws, such as the Metropolitan Building Act of 1844, which prohibited 'harmful trades' in London. As a result housing for the workforce was urgently needed, but what was built was often overcrowded and insanitary, bringing hardship and illness. Social and political activists, including James Keir Hardy, began campaigning to improve conditions in such areas. In 1886 the Metropolitan District Councils were established by Act of Parliament and new councils such as that at West Ham began to address the social issues, including the need for recreational open space, which was then being championed by a number of individuals and organisations, among them the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association, which had been founded in 1882.

Canning Town Recreation Ground came into being following local pressure for West Ham Borough Council to provide a recreation ground for this rapidly developing area, and was one of the first parks to be provided by West Ham Corporation. Originally known as Beckton Park, lying alongside Beckton Road, which formed the northern border of the park (now Newham Way). It was opened in June 1894 by the then Mayor of West Ham, Alderman J H Bethell. It was designed by the MPGA landscape gardener and consisted of three areas united by two east-west walks: a formal area in the north-west with a bandstand, various tree-lined walks, and shrubberies, with a lodge, refreshments pavilion, drinking fountain and toilets. In the north-east was a gymnasium and an open-air swimming pool, the latter built by private subscription; and in the south-east was an open sports area. The OS 25 ins map of 1894 (London LXVI) shows the recreation ground, at that time with very little housing surrounding it. Various facilities were added over the years, and others were replaced. The Carnegie Library dated 1905 was built in the park's south east corner, and is marked on the OS 25 ins Map revision of 1914, published  in 1919 (Essex New Series- LXXXVI.10) as is the Swimming Bath near the Gymnasium. By this time there were streets of housing laid out to the west and south of the park, and allotments gardens immediately to the west, as well as east and north, where the land was still largely unbuilt. The Air Mosaics photograph of  April 1946 shows the Municipal Lido, which had replaced the swimming pool in 1937 and which on plans of 1960 is shown as an elaborate structure with ponds and fountains. By then the gymnasium had become a playground, which later still became a car park. By 1951 tennis courts, a playground, bowling and putting greens had been added to the north-western area, although the two greens and the bandstand have since gone, as has the Lido (see OS 1:1250 Map of 1951 TQ4081NE-A). The adjoining area south west of the main park is marked as a Recreation Ground by 1951, and later as a Playing Field (TQ4081NE-B) and this area now forms part of the park with a Ball Court, paddling pool and play area.

Rosetta Road School was opened in 1919 for 1,500 on the open site south of the recreation ground, originally constructed in a single-storey quadrangular arrangement. The school was reorganised in 1930 for senior boys and girls and infants and in 1945 for mixed juniors and infants.

The construction of the A13 as a dual carriageway sliced off the northern boundary of the park including the original north walk and its tree-lined avenue. The bandstand site is marked by an ornamental garden, surrounded by beds of evergreen shrubs. There remain various mature trees in the park, including avenues of London planes, and the trees planted along the northern boundary are now semi-mature. A cycle speedway track now used by East London Cycle Speedway Club, replaced the planting along the eastern boundary adjacent to the library. The park's remaining tennis courts are now part of Newham Parks Tennis Scheme, dedicated to encourage participants of all ages and skill levels, including social play, competitive leagues and profession coaching. 

The park has a mini orchard and wildflower meadow, and a sensory garden has been planted opposite Outdoors in the City.  Ashburton Wood (q.v.) lies adjacent to the park to the south west, across Freemasons Road.

Sources consulted:

Landscape Design Associates Report on Heritage Value of 9 Parks, for LB Newham, July 1997; Newham Parks Review 1998/99; 'A History of the County of Essex: Volume Six', Victoria County History, ed. W R Powell (London, 1973):  https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol6/pp144-157

Grid ref:

TQ408816 (540850,181650)

Size in hectares:

7.87

Site ownership:

LB Newham

Site management:

Parks Service

Date(s):

1894

Designer(s):

MPGA landscape gardener

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:

Archaeological Priority Areas: Canning Town/Newham Way APA and Prince Regent Lane APA

Other LA designation:

None