A history of Lillie Rec

Lillie Road

Originally known as Old Crown Lane (and also as Crown Lane or Payne's Lane), the highway that’s now called Lillie Road extended only as far as North End Road until the early 19th Century.  It was named after the local Payne family, who have been frequently mentioned in Court Rolls since 1386.

Crown Lane cut through Fulham Fields. On the north side were privately owned villas and lodges situated in generous amounts of land but nearly all of these have since been demolished. However, there are still name plaques on some, such as Oakley Lodge and Wentworth Cottage.

Sir John Scott Lillie (1790 to 1868) was a decorated army officer. He was also a landowner, inventor and activist in social causes. In 1826-27, he funded an extension to the route of the old road, to take it from North End Road on to Lillie Bridge, where Earls Court exhibition centre stood.  Eventually, the whole route was renamed Lillie Road and both sides were re-numbered.

Fulham Fields

Due to industrial and business growth in the 19th Century, the market gardens and farmlands known as Fulham Fields were much reduced in size. Streets were hastily built to accommodate new dwellings for skilled manual labourers working in local trades and crafts, as well as shops (with dwellings above) to service the expanding population. One of them, Hawksmoor Street, is named after Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661-1736)  a prominent English architect, noted for many other buildings and churches in London in the Baroque style.

Lillie Road Recreation Ground created

Employment rights, including leisure time, were limited in Victorian and Edwardian times. However, philanthropists encouraged and funded the laying out of recreation grounds and parks where people could walk and enjoy pastimes such as playing ball games. This allowed for much-needed relaxation and spiritual nourishment for free in  times of great hardship and poverty.

In 1891, the triangular site next to Fulham Cemetery we know now was purchased for about £1,250 an acre 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 on 30 December 1892. Its name changed to Lillie Road Recreation Ground in the latter 20th century. 

The park originally had railings along the central path and a bandstand, gymnasium and gardens, added in 1894. An extension beyond the east wall was added as part of the redevelopment of the Fulham riverside in the 1970s.

A new school is built

Because of the rise in population and the influx of families settling here, London County Council (LCC) funded a school for both girls and boys in Everington Street, which opened in 1882. 

The Elementary Education Act made attendance at school compulsory for children from five to 10 years of age. Children under 13 who were in employment had to work towards a Certificate of Education to demonstrate that they had reached an acceptable standard of learning. Compulsory subjects were Arithmetic, English, Geography and History with some optional additional subjects (needlework for girls; drawing skills for boys).

Many years later, I attended this school, starting in September 1980. It was then part of Fulham Gillatt School and was for pupils aged between 11 and 13. After this age, pupils transferred to the Munster Road site.  In 1981, Fulham Gillatt amalgamated with Mary Boon Technical School in Earsby Street, W14. This was because of a fall in the birth rate and fewer school places being needed.

The school in Munster Road was renamed Fulham Cross School.  The school in Everington St became the sixth form centre, before the whole building was demolished for housing in 1995.  I recall seeing part of the demolition process in 1995 and how eerie it looked, remembering how many children had walked through the gates over the years to get an education. 

Around and about the Rec – Purcell Crescent

Purcell Crescent unfortunately took a direct hit from a bomb in World War II.  According to a local resident, the Rec was used to store the metal and any useful materials from the stricken houses from this and areas nearby. Clearing bomb damage quickly was seen as important in order not to depress people's morale further.   Some of the remaining houses were later demolished, too, because they were deemed unsanitary and uninhabitable. In their place, a green space was created which leads to Strode Road.

Next to Purcell Crescent going north and where the new flats are situated, was North Fulham Police Station, opened in October 1887. It was locally known as ‘The Jubilee Station’ as the then monarch, Queen Victoria, celebrated her golden jubilee that year. 

In the 1911 census, 10 constables are listed as working and living locally in houses built for police officers and their families. But by 1928, the police station itself was used mainly as a section house and the address was changed to 353 Lillie Road.

On 1 January 1938, North Fulham Police Station shut its doors and the public had to use the South Fulham Police Station in Heckfield Place to report crime. From 1939 to 1944, the NFPC was used for police purposes to help the war effort. After this, it was demolished and only the section houses remained.