Ilford

Barking Park War Memorial

Loxford · 2.5 miles

Wall dedicated to those from Barking who lost their lives during the First and Second World War.

Eastbury Manor House

Thames View · 3.1 miles

A substantial Elizabethan residence survives in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, where Eastbury Manor House stands as a Grade I listed museum. The building occupies land that once formed part of the demesne of Barking Abbey and lies close to the Thames View area of Greater London. Ownership rests with the National Trust while day-to-day management is provided by the borough council; the house welcomes visitors for ten months each year. Construction began in the 1570s after merchant Clement Sisley acquired the former abbey lands. Contemporary records note brickwork bearing the dates 1572 and 1573, and dendrochronology places the timber roof in 1566, indicating a rapid build-up. The house was probably the first brick structure locally, featuring glass windows that may have been imported from Italy and unusually high chimneys, both signs of its original wealth. A later tradition links the house to the Gunpowder Plot, although no documentary evidence supports the claim. Following a period of decline from the late eighteenth century—during which the Great Tower Staircase was removed by 1814 and original flooring and fireplaces disappeared in the 1830s—only the west wing remained habitable by the nineteenth century’s end. The National Trust purchased the property in 1918, restored it, and opened it as the Museum of Barking in 1931. After being listed in 1954, the house benefited from Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restorations, the most recent completed in 2010, which added a permanent exhibition detailing the building’s architectural evolution and succession of owners.

Highams Park Boating Lake

Highams Park · 3.1 miles

The lake, created in the early 19th century when landscape gardener Humphry Repton redirected the River Ching, forms the water-centre of Highams Park in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. Repton’s 1793 plan turned a flood-prone site into the present lake, which later became part of the grounds of the Manor of Highams – a house built in 1768 and subsequently used as a Crimean-War hospital before becoming Woodford County High School for Girls. The water feature was opened to the public in the late 19th century and now lies within the larger parkland that borders Woodford Green and the Highams Estate. Boating has been a long-standing activity on the lake, with an “old boathouse” serving the community for more than a century. The building is currently leased from the Corporation of London by the Waltham Forest South District Scouts, who have restored it for use by local sailing clubs. Historically the lake hosted child-size Flies built by club owner Ken Ford and larger yachts such as the Moth IV; a 1970s appearance on the BBC programme *Blue Peter* highlighted a large yacht being lifted from the boathouse for a sea transfer. Recent engineering reports have classified the lake as a Category A reservoir, prompting plans to raise the dam while preserving Repton’s landscape design. The lake is identified on OpenStreetMap as a natural water feature near the Highams Park neighbourhood, and can be reached on foot from the surrounding residential area. As a public amenity, it does not require an admission charge, and the adjacent park provides open access for walkers and visitors.

Martyrs Memorial

Stratford New Town · 3.7 miles

A 19th-century monument in Stratford New Town marks the site where a group of eleven men and two women were executed for their Protestant convictions during the Marian persecutions of 1556. The stone column stands in St John’s churchyard on Stratford Broadway and was raised in 1879 to honour those who suffered at the hands of the authorities. Designed by J T Newman, the structure comprises an ornate hexagonal shaft topped by a twelve-sided spire that reaches approximately 65 feet. One face bears a terra-cotta relief panel that reproduces an illustration from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, while the remaining sides list the names of the thirteen individuals, together with Elizabeth Warne, Stephen Harwood, Hugh Laverock, John Apprice, Patrick Packingham and the Reverend Thomas Rose, whose fates were linked to the same period of religious turmoil. The memorial was financed through public subscription, the appeal being chaired by Rev William Jay Bolton, Vicar of Stratford. Its unveiling on 2 August 1879 was conducted under the auspices of the Earl of Shaftesbury, whose address reflected the anti-Catholic sentiment of the time. Contemporary commentary in The Graphic criticised the polarising tone of the speech. The monument is recorded on the National Heritage List for England as a Grade II listed structure, with Historic England confirming its protected status. Visitors can view the memorial within the churchyard, where the surrounding setting remains unchanged since its erection.

Chigwell Row Wood

Chigwell Row · 3.7 miles

Chigwell Row Wood is a 14.1 hectare Local Nature Reserve in Chigwell in Epping Forest district, Essex. It is owned by The Chigwell Row Recreation Ground Charity, of which the district council are the trustees, and managed by council staff and volunteers.

Old Ford Island

Fish Island · 4.3 miles

Old Ford Island is a nature reserve within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the London Borough of Newham.