Looking for a grass football, rugby or cricket pitches in East London? Hackney Marshes, the spiritual home to grass roots football, has over 80 grass football, rugby and cricket pitches available for hire and bookings. As well as the sports pitches the Hackney Marshes Centre has 26 modern changing rooms, dedicated officials rooms, 3 fully equipped meeting/conference rooms, a large bar/function suite and free parking. Pitches are available for hire on a block booking or a pay as you play basis and are available to football/sports leagues or teams, local schools, community groups or individual bookers. We have: 58 adult grass pitches, 2 premium (step 7 standard) adult grass pitches, 14 junior pitches (5v5, 7v7 & 9v9), 3 Rugby pitches, 3 Grass Cricket pitches and 5 Artificial Cricket wickets. Discounted rates are available for midweek bookings – for more details email hackney.marshes@gll.org The Bar / Function suite can accommodate weddings, christenings, funeral wakes, private parties, birthdays or sports social events.

The LEA has played an important part in supplying water to London, from early 17th c., at least.

FRANCIS TYSSEN built the first LEA BRIDGE (or HACKNEY) WW c.1707, at JEREMY’S FERRY, N  of LEA BRIDGE ROAD. By means of a waterwheel, water was brought out, then pumped and transported through wooden pipes to the CLAPTON RESERVOIR, from where it was distributed to the local people.
A very basic system, it eventually fell into disrepair and people had to go back to the old methods of water collection, that is, local pumps and rain butts.

In 1760 the HACKNEY WATERWORKS CO. set up, here where you are now, new waterworks. The site was bought, in 1829, by the EAST LONDON WATERWORKS CO. The area was becoming a manufacturing district…

Water, those times, was sold untreated. From the 1830s, these districts, already overcrowded and the people living in unsanitary conditions, several outbreaks of CHOLERA succeeded one after the other. 14.000 East Londoners dies in 1849. By 1855, 55.000 lives han been claimed,  after a series of epidemics.

The ELWW Co. had to respond to the growing demand of water, and safer water became, as well, a general demand. In 1852 6 FILTER BEDS to purify water began to be built. Waterwheels,  steam driven pumps, reservoirs… were, as well, important innovations.

By 1860, a growing understanding of how the disease was spread, coupled with a desire to improve the sanitation of the city led to these vast facilities being commissioned by Parliament. A vital supply of clean water was on its way.

In parallel, went the building of the London SEWAGE SYSTEM. Its creator: JOSEPH BAZALGETTE, a descendant of HUGUENOT refugees.

More sophisticated water treatment facilities, and pioneering scientific examination and testing were put in place here.

By the end of the 19th c. every house in London had water supply.

And here, by 1882 there were 25 FB in the ESSEX & MIDDLESEX WATERWORKS.

The METROPOLITAN WATER BOARD was founded in 1904.

Gradually water companies concentrated, and this installations went into decline, becoming finally obsolete and closing in 1972, when they were replaced by the new complex of COPPERMILL WATER TREATMENT PLANT, in WALTHAMSTOW.

Now, put away your tablet. Everything is explained in the panels around the nature reserve. Enjoy!. However, if you are reading somewhere else, here are some notes I have taken…

The water treatment operation ceased in the 1970s. Human activity stopped . Wildlife moved back and new habitats developed over time. Some took hold quickly, others took many years to become what they are today.

The first few years, some FB were filled in and the main buildings demolished. And most of the site was left undisturbed, so that vegetation gradually took over along the fringes, habitats for birds and insects. BED still 18 looks similar to how it would have looked when the WW were still in use.

5 years on, the water level of BEDS 22,23 & 24 began to fall, tricking away or by evaporation: new islands of gravel and sand were exposed, a wet soil that became a perfect place for marshland plants, attracting insects, and then birds and amphibians. LITTLE COOT and RINGED PLOVER were the first birds to breed here.

10 years on, as more gravel/sand was exposed, the plant cover thickened and became denser. Marsh plants were thriving, the roots in the water, leaves and flowers growing above. 
Insects attracted amphibians: FROGS, TODS, NEWTS.

Predators as GRAY HERON or GRASS SNAKE,  found here a good hunting ground.

BEDS 17 and 17 managed to maintain a marshy wetland habitat.

25 years on… Much of the water had been drained away. A wet meadow, liable to flooding in times of high rainfall, would have developed. BED 14 replicates now a meadow condition, supporting plants adapted to them, as they like to be wet all through winter an come into flower when the summer warmth dries out the soil.

Much of the LEA VALLEY looked like this before the building of waterworks, mills and FB. Hay was cut around the 13 th of August, LAMMAS DAY. Afterwards, farmers were entitled to put their cattle to feed, which was called LAMMAS GRAZING 

After 30 years, where FB were not managed in any way, WILLOW  ASH and ALDER trees would eventually grow on them. Therefore, open water, reed beds and water meadows  being shaded, would eventually dry out.

In fact, the LEA VALLEY was densely covered in woodland trees, before humans started cutting trees down and grazing their animals. A wonderful habitat for insects, birds and mammals, and an environment with a changing appearance from season ro season. BED 13 has been managed to allow trees to flourish.

An ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION has taken place when an area has been turned from open water to woodland. This process has been observed thanks to the FB being managed and, thus, providing a range of successful habitats.

Every year, staff cuts vegetation back and control water levels in order to conserve each area, preventing them from turning to scrub and eventually to woodland. 
A mosaic of habitats has been created, allowing a range of species like butterflies, dragonflies, reptiles, amphibians, and birds. That is BIODIVERSITY, that is, ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION has been prevented of taken place.

A haven for nature and wildlife…

PANEL 1
The site began to be managed in order to provide a different range of habitats.

A carpet of COWSLIP covers the MEADOWS in Spring, becoming home to RINGLET BUTT, ROESEL’S BUSH crickets…and GRASS SNAKES are often seen hunting for frogs.

Here, in a remaining FB, you can contemplate a BIRD HIDE:  a WARBLER nesting among reeds, a SNIPE feeding around muddy edges, a DUCK on open water, TEAL and SHOVETER, WOODPECKER and WARBLER (CHIFFCHAFF, WHITE THROAT) can be seen in wooden areas and scrub, KESTREL are hunting overhead. 
MAMMALS: COMMON SHREW, WOOD MOUSE, VOLES, WEASELS… have found an excellent home in woodland scrub and grassland.

PANEL 2. OUR WILDLIFE GARDEN

PANEL 3. WILLOW VOODLAND

PANEL 4. WONDERFUL WILLOW WOODLAND

HACKNEY MARSH was divided into ownership strips, in 1745.

Here, where the MFBNR is, the land was owned by MARGARET PROSSER, JOHN HARCOURT, FRANCIS TYSSEN and the DEAN & CHAPTER of ST.PAUL’S CATHEDRAL (LONDON). They were LAMMAS LAND, owner-cultivated from the 6th of April to the 12th of August, and the rest of the year a common cattle grazing.

A water channel or MILLRACE was dug out, which took the water from the river LEA  to  to the WATERWHEELS.

You will be standing over the SITE OF THE MILL RACE, almost all of which has been filled in.

There were here 3 types of mill: the ones pumping water, supplying up to 1000 families with water in only 12 hours; the ones grinding corn, to make flour; the ones powering the boring machines to make pipes out of trunks, pipes which served to carry water to the reservoir and, from there, to the local inhabitants. The pipes were made thinner at one end so they could slit together. Or powering the machines grinding the point to pins and needles (120.000  points a day), which were  then polished here, after. Ring sent to WORCESTERSHIRE  (REDDITCH) for the eyes to be made.

A disaster struck in 1796, when a fire broke out. 

In 1829 the rebuilt mills were taken over by the ELWW Co.  They were demolished and a new PUMP HOUSE was built, capable of pumping 13 millions barrels of water a year, to a reservoir in STAMFORD HILL. 

When the millrace was cut, locks had to be built to maintain water levels, which caused a controversy between millers and bargemen. In 1766, JOHN SMEATON  proposed a new waterway from LEA BRIDGE to OLD FORD,  bypassing the mills. THOMAS YEOMAN, his assistant, directed the excavation. In 1769, the HACKNEY CUT, that is the LEE NAVIGATION, was opened.

In 1929, A V ROE was knighted. In 1933, he changed his surname to  VERDON-ROE, in homage to his mother. Along those years, he was a member of the BUF, a supporter of  MOSLEY.

2 of his sons were killed in RAF action during WW2. Grandson BOBBY VERNON-ROE became a racing driver.

He lived in HAMBLE, HAMPSHIRE, until 1940.

When you walk the West side of the NAVIGATION, you will realise that pubs must have been the focus of a thriving leisure resort, around this area, towards the end of the 19th c.: “THE HENLEY OF THE LEA”.

All turned around river boats: Building, repairing, hiring, storing… Many rowing clubs were based around here. The FIRST ALL WOMEN REGATTA took place here, in 1925!

A cluster of activities grew up, originally, around the HIGH HILL FERRY, which continued to operate until late 19th c.

Repetitive river flooding let to the clearance of residential properties on safety and higiene grounds, and only isolated fragments remain.

The archaeological findings here in the park  have helped map out the process of human existence in HACKNEY. A PALEOLITHIC axe and flints were found to the S.

ROMAN artefacts (vessels, coffins, bones) were found during excavations in 1814 and 1847.

Later on, an ANGLO-SAXON CANOE, baptised as the SPRINGFIELD BOAT, unearthed during an excavation in the children’s play, has made historians that a ferry was in place here. A replica on display in the HACKNEY MUSEUM.

The surrounding area was used for some form of agriculture or husbandry. The park itself had meadows and hedgerows, used for cultivation.

WILSON’S HILL was left unploughed, even at war times, due to the steep slope, which make of  it a difficulty terrain to cultivate.

The 3 villas built during the 18th and 19th cs had grounds covering much of the present park.

In modern times docks and factores surrounded the 3 villas that occupied the estate. Citation are common of calico ground, calico printers, milliners hanging fields, the New Tile Yard (the area where the BANDSTAND is now was very rich in clay)… GILES’S DOCK, a channel of water leading W from the LEA to SPRING LANE, used for loading barges, remained until 1868,  and a varnish factory was beside it. 

Near the main entrance of the park, on a road called SPRINGFIELD, stands the Georgian era SPRINGFIELD HOUSE. The land around it, went up for auction in 1902, and a group of local businessmen saved it from development, eventually falling into responsibility of the LCC.  COLONEL SEXBY initiated the landscaping of those grounds. A pre-existent pond was enlarged, a tarmac car park was created to the East of the house (now a lawn), a circular band-stand, with a tiled roof and a shelter were erected. To the NE a triangular lawn lies where THE CHESTNUTS was.

SPRINGFIELD HOUSE, called, as well, SPRINGFIELD MANSION, THE MANSION, THE WHITE HOUSE, THE WHITE LODGE… is an early 19th c. Building.  A drive lined with shrubbery and lawn, with circular beds, leads to a central Doric porch, with at its centre a four panelled door, and an elegant fanlight surmounting it. A bow window graces the NE garden front.

The SW corner of the Park derives from the gardens of the house, and now are little altered after being re-laid out in 1905.

The stables and a derelict glasshouse survived. And a restoration project began to be executed in 2019 (thanks to a grant from NAT.LOT.HERIT.FUND) in order to return the house to its original aspect, building new annexes for a kitchen and toilets, in order to use the income from the CAFÉ to mantain and improve the park. And the stables are now let out to businesses.

The glasshouse though has been replaced by a community events venue.

Parkland was improved: An island was created in the pond, a bowling green was added, and an extensive program of planting and landscaping was completed. 

To the NE an area now included within the park, was GILES’S DOCK, which might have been associated with tile yards. Old maps show it (1774 estate map, 1868 OS map). In 1876 works to straighten the LEA might have caused to be filled in.

Now you are following the natural course of the LEA, the WEST WARWICK RESERVOIR is on the East bank, and beside the EAST WARWICK, and all the reservoirs which are now part of the WALTHAMSTOW WETLANDS.  Have a look at your phone, find your whereabouts, and enjoy this awesome place!.

The WALTHAMSTOW RESERVOIRS were built after their construction and that of filter beds were sanctioned by Act of Parliament, in 1853. The EAST LONDON WATERWORKS COMPANY became the sole supplier of water of the area.

The first reservoirs were constructed between FERRY LANE and COPPERMILL LANE in the 1860s. The commoners rights were purchased for £200 (LAMMAS LAND). During the excavations for the   LOCKWOOD RESERVOIR a “VIKING SHIP BURIAL”  was found.

In fact, it was a 17th c. boat, with no association at all with the rests of a body and a swordThis was the most celebrated discovery,  it many other finds, dating from  the STONE AGE to the SAXON AGE were made.

And now, these smaller, early reservoirs are a haven for a variety of wild birds, and the WALTHAMSTOW HERONRY is one of the largest in Europe.

Now a visitor attraction, the BEAM ENGINE of the MARKFIELD ROAD PUMPING STATION was  built , in 1886, in YORKSHIRE, having being transported here by barge. It was a 100 horsepower, finely decorated machine,  with Doric columns and Acanthus leaves.

Its mission was pumping up to 4 million gallons of sewage water a day into the London sewage system, from TOTTENHAM to the BECKTON WORKS. it was operational until 1964, though from 1905 had been relegated to occasional duty for storm water pumping.

Another reminder of Waltham Abbey’s ‘explosive’ past, Gunpowder Park was formerly a ROYAL ORDNANCE  site concerned with munitions testing. Now given over to wildlife, features of the original landscape have been retained and the entrance and graphics evoke its former life and the area’s connection with the manufacture of gunpowder and explosives. The park has been given a Green Flag Award.

As well as open space for recreation, outdoor pursuits, arts and entertainment, the park has fields, meadow and marsh to be enjoyed by walkers and cyclists throughout the year and horse riders  on the permissive bridleway in the summer.

Waltham Abbey is a unique and traditional market town full of character and charm and surrounded by heritage including 16th century timber-framed buildings and a fine 'Art Nouveau' Town Hall. It has impressive associations with Royalty including King Harold, Henry II and Henry VIII. Its charter as a market town was granted by Richard the Lionheart in 1189 and the impressive Waltham Abbey Church and gardens remains as a reminder of the monastic centre that once dominated the town, founded by King Harold in 1060. King Harold was reputedly buried in the grounds following his death at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The town centre is also home to the Epping Forest District Museum which has recently reopened after a major refurbishment and extension to its Grade II* listed Tudor building to improve facilities, displays and exhibition space.