Just off Leytonstone High Road lies this hidden treasure and one of the borough’s newest parks. Created from the old Langthorne Hospital grounds, the park provides a welcome oasis of greenery and makes a vital contribution to the health, education and quality of life of the whole community. Adults and children of all ages use the park for sport, participation in organised events, picnicking or just quiet contemplation.
The park derives its name from the Stratford-Langthorne Abbey, founded in 1135 and owner of 1500 acres of local farmland. It was on some of this land that the West Ham Union Workhouse was built in 1842 to provide relief to the poor. The building housed up to 1000 inmates from the surrounding areas of Walthamstow, Leyton, Stratford and West Ham. West Ham County Borough Council ran it as the Central Home for the chronically sick, aged and infirm. In 1948 it was reborn as Langthorne Hospital, specialising in the care of the elderly. By the late 1980s, however, the site was declared surplus to requirements. The main original workhouse building was acquired by the Waltham Forest Housing Action Trust and has been converted into residential accommodation. The rest of the site was acquired by Waltham Forest Council in 1996 for park development. Today’s park features a number of specially commissioned art features that enhance the physical environment and provide visual representations of the site’s long history.
