Jenny's Corner - Articles

More than 100 years of recreation

We'd love to add more about the history of the local area on this website. We welcome any information you'd like to share about Lillie Recreation ground and its surrounding areas in past times. Please send us any old photographs you might have discovered too!

Part of a fold-out illustrated map
A Bird's-Eye View of the Thames from the City to Oxford (c. 1887; publisher unknown)

Map showing the newly designated recreation area (top right corner) around 1887)

One of the first maps to show the parkland area set aside for a recreation ground in Fulham, this section was part of a fascinating illustrated view of the Thames from the City to Oxford, published in about 1887.

It also shows The District Railway (extended from West Brompton to Putney Bridge in 1880) and the new Putney Bridge, opened in 1885. (Courtesy of Fulham Cemetery Friends)

A section from the OS map of London produced in 1894-6

In 1891, the triangular site we know now was bought by the Fulham Vestry (the local government authority for the ancient parish of Fulham, before vestries were replaced by borough councils) in order to provide recreational space for the growing population in the area. Funding was received from London County Council and it opened as Fulham Recreation Ground in 1892, 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.

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More than 100 years of recreation

We'd love to add more about the history of the local area on this website. We welcome any information you'd like to share about Lillie Recreation ground and its surrounding areas in past times. Please send us any old photographs you might have discovered too!

Map showing the newly designated recreation area (top right corner) around 1887)

One of the first maps to show the parkland area set aside for a recreation ground in Fulham, this section was part of a fascinating illustrated view of the Thames from the City to Oxford, published in about 1887.

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