History

Please be aware that the history page isn't complete and is still a "work in progress". As such, some details may need clarifying and maybe inaccurate.

Introduction

Raphael Park is the western section of the former landscape gardens of the Gidea Park Estate and lies to the north-east of Romford in the Romford Garden Suburb. It is bounded to the south by the A118 which crosses the canal at Black's Bridge at its southern end, and surrounded by a network of suburban streets developed from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. It is an irregularly shaped site, sloping uphill towards its northern end and broadening out into a large raised plateau, with a low-lying tree-lined valley on the western side following the northern course of the river feeding Black's Canal. On the south side of the A118 lies Lodge Farm Park, on farmland formerly part of the estate, and to the east of the Garden Suburb development is Romford Golf Course on the site of the former park.

Gidea Hall

Gidea Hall was a building of the 15th century and 16th century, built on a 13th century manor; in the 17th century the estate also included Bedfords. The manor house stood to the north of Main Road and east of Raphael Park. From 1452-1629, Gidea Hall was owned by the Cooke family. The Elizabethan house was moated and stood in a park of 200 acres, with a deer park, rabbit warren and a fishpond. After 1629 the estate changed hands several times until it was acquired in c.1710 by Sir John Eyles, Sub-Governor of the South Sea Company and joint Post-master General. His son sold the manor in 1745 to Richard Benyon, Governor of Fort St. George, Madras, India. In 1802 his grandson, also Richard Benyon, sold the estate to Alexander Black (d. 1835). Following the death of his widow the estate was sold for development to the Land Allotment Co. in 1893, and resold in 1897 to Sir Herbert H. Raphael, barrister and Liberal MP for South Derbyshire from 1906-1918.

Gidea Hall was rebuilt as a three-storey mansion in 1720 by Sir John Eyles, Bart. who 'also formed the lake and greatly improved the park'. The moat was retained and incorporated into the formal layout of canals and avenues shown in Chapman and Andre's Map of 1777. Some of the stable buildings from the 16th century house survived until 1922. The 18th century house, which was demolished in 1929/30, stood at the centre of radiating avenues, with a long canal, the Spoon Pond, on the northern side, and a fish-pond and a walled garden to the north-east. The Account Books for the Gidea Hall Estate for this period list numerous payments for labour in the gardens; on April 12th 1747 a payment for 'taking fish in cold weather out of Water Man's Bridge canal and other cold works' and on February 10th 1749 'Paid Thomas Allen the gardener three years wages due Michael last, £54-0-0'. Karl Zinzendorf described the park in his diary on 15th April 1768: "C'est un des plus vastes parcs que j'ai vu, peigne que cela fait plaisir, beaucoup des belles avenues, de pieces d'eau, le toute entoure de belles palissades presque jusq'aux portes de Rumford."

Translation required: It is one of vastest parks the than I saw, comb that that given pleasure, much of the beautiful avenues, of water parts, all surrounds it by beautiful palisades almost jusq' with the doors of Rumford.

The Spoon Pond survives from this period, now dry, and with tennis courts laid out along its length.

Richard Benyon

Richard Benyon enlarged the park c.1776, possibly to the designs of Richard Wood (who was a tenant of Benyon's residing and working in the neighbourhood), creating a less formal layout, the lake or serpentine canal and Wyatt's new bridge of three elliptical arches (still surviving and now known as Black's Canal and Black's Bridge) to carry the road across the greater width of water. The canal was apparently formed by damming and redirecting one of the tributary streams which are shown on the map of 1777, and which must have fed the various water-features of the earlier formal gardens. Wyatt also designed a 'Grecian temple for a cold bath'.

For Sale: 179 acres of 'rich land'

At its sale in 1797, the estate was described as consisting of 179 acres of 'rich land', of which 156 acres were offered for sale which included lawns, plantations, pleasure grounds and fishponds, and the walled garden of 3.5 acres with choice fruit trees and a melon ground. The house, offices, bowling green and wilderness occupied 16 acres, the vineyard 22 acres and the Spoon Canal 2 acres. The purchaser was Alexander Black, after whom the 18th century canal and bridge are now known. The 'Plan of Gidea Hall Park and farms adjoining...the Property of Alexander Black Esq.' of 1807 surveyed by J. Chilcot shows a dark area comprising of the park and house and pleasure ground, surrounded by fields. The vineyards are laid out on either side of the Spoon Canal, and a tree-lined approach avenue leads across the south side of the park. The Pleasure Grounds north of Black's Canal are also quite thickly planted with trees.

Herbert Raphael

In 1897 the house and estate were purchased by Herbert Raphael, and Black's Canal of 5 acres, together with 15 acres of gardens, was given to Romford Urban District Council in 1902 for use as a public park 'for the benefit of the townspeople', probably with a view to protecting Raphael's investment in the adjoining Romford Garden Suburb developed from 1910. The Council later bought the Spoon Pond and 16 further acres, and Raphael gave another 4.5 acres. Raphael Park was opened to the public in 1904.

Beyond the Raphael Years

19th century and 20th century housing developments abut the boundaries of Raphael Park on all sides. However, to the east the Romford Garden Suburb contains deliberately preserved and integrated features from the former 18th century Gidea Park. In 1970 Havering Council designated the suburb a Conservation Area.

In its present form Raphael Park preserves many features of the 18th century landscape garden at Gidea Park including Black's Canal, the Pleasure Ground, the Spoon Canal, and the site of the former Vineyards. The main entrance is on Main Road, to the east of Black's Bridge, with a red brick lodge c.1904 close to the entrance gates surrounded by mature yews and oaks, with some municipal-style beds nearby. Black's Canal retains its 18th century serpentine form and island; its western bank is now abutted by private houses and their gardens, and a fountain has been installed at the southern end. An asphalted path follows the eastern bank of the canal, which has been clad in cement; a second path runs from the entrance lodge along higher ground on the eastern side of the park. Between the paths on the site of the former Pleasure Grounds are mature oaks, horse chestnut, and some specimen trees, together with more recent planting and a rock-work terrace of c.1960 on higher ground close to the northern tip of the canal.

To the north of the former Pleasure Ground a sunken tree-lined avenue marking the northern course of Black's Canal occupies the same site delineated on the survey of 1807; on higher ground to the east lies a broad grass plateau now laid out with sports pitches on the site of the 18th century Western Vineyard, and the sunken outline of the 18th century Spoon Pond or Canal, laid out with tennis courts along its bottom, a playground sited within its northern basin. Mature oaks encircle its basin and horse chestnuts line its eastern side. The back-gardens of houses abut the park on its southern side and Parkway running along its eastern side forms the boundary with the garden suburb, developed over the site of Gidea Hall itself and its southern parkland.

The park is very well used, although the main entrance gates need restoring and there are a number of redundant or dilapidated structures all badly affected by vandalism. The lake attracts common water birds; great crested grebe and tufted duck breed regularly, mute swan occasionally. There are two islands, both covered in woodland of sycamore, oak, horse chestnut and common lime.

Bibliography: F Cowell, 'Richard Wood (1716-93) A Preliminary Account' in Garden History vol 15 1987; F G Emmison 'Catalogue of Maps in Essex Record Office', 1952; D W Collier 'The People's History of Essex'. 1861; P Morant 'History of Essex' vol I 1816; Gidea Park & District Civic Society leaflets; L J Leicester 'The Romford Garden Suburb in Gidea Park' in Heritage Record, 1988; I G Sparkes, 'Gidea Hall and Gidea Park', 1966; B Evans 'Romford, Colllier Row and Gidea Park', Chichester 1994; H Jordan 'Gidea Park Essex', 1989; Victoria County History of Essex vols v and vii

Date of Research: 1995 RG; 1999 SW visit 12/7/99; photos/visit 8/4/06