Inventory Site Record

The remains of the disused burial ground of St Mary's Plaistow is situated in the corner of a recreation ground, which was laid out by the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association in 1900. The design was undertaken by Fanny Wilkinson, landscape gardener for the MPGA, for whom she designed over 75 public gardens in London, many of them former burial grounds. Today the site is largely grass with some scattered trees and a playground. The remaining gravestones are clustered in one corner of the site near a modest C20th church located just outside the recreation ground. The site abuts May Green, an open space maintained by Newham's Parks Service.

Site location:

St Mary's Road, Plaistow

Postcode:

E13

What 3 Words:

noble.colleague.garden

Type of site:

Public Gardens

Borough:

Newham

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

unrestricted

Special conditions:

Facilities:

playground

Events:

Public transport:

Tube: Plaistow (District, Hammersmith & City).

Citymapper    
Google Map    
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Research updated:

01/02/2006

Last minor changes:

14/07/2022

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

Plaistow was a hamlet recorded from the C15th as a settlement on the edge of the marshes. By the 1740s it had become the largest hamlet in West Ham parish, probably centred on a large green with a number of larger houses. St Mary Plaistow was the first new church to be built when West Ham parish had grown too large for the parish church. It was built as a chapel of ease designed by Edward Blore and built in 1828-9, later replaced by a larger church designed by Blomfield in 1889-94. The current church dates from 1981, although the old church schools of 1831 remain in May Road, a rare reminder of the old village in an area now dominated by post-war development.

Sources consulted:

Elizabeth Crawford, 'Enterprising Women: The Garretts and their Circle' (Francis Boutle Publishers, 2nd ed. 2009); Bridget Cherry, Charles O'Brien, Nikolaus Pevsner, 'The Buildings of England London 5: East' (Yale University Press, 2005 ed)

Grid ref:

TQ405833 (540550,183350)

Size in hectares:

Site ownership:

LB Newham

Site management:

Environment Department

Date(s):

1900

Designer(s):

MPGA (Fanny Wilkinson)

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:

None