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Croydon Road Recreation Ground is a public park in Beckenham in the London Borough of Bromley. It is near the High St and adjacent to Beckenham Beacon. The park features a café and bandstand, as well as a bowling green and other sports facilities. The park was laid out by the Sydenham firm Reid and Bornemann in 1890 and was formally opened on 23 September 1891. a French balloonist and Dr. Barton, a local medical practitioner. Mail was dropped at three points in Kent before the balloon itself then crossed the Channel before landing near Calais.

On 16 August 1969 David Bowie helped organise and played at the Growth Summer Festival a one-day festival that played from the bandstand in the park. On 15 September 2013, the park hosted a "Memory of a Free Festival" event, commemorating the 1969 festival.

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Lodge of Croydon Road Recreation Ground (01).jpg|Victorian gate lodge, part of a Grade II–listed structure

Southwest Gate to Croydon Road Recreation Ground (01).jpg|Western entrance gate, listed as Grade II with the lodge

Bowie Bandstand, Croydon Road Recreation Ground (02).jpg|Bowie Bandstand, separately Grade II–listed

North Field of Croydon Road Recreation Ground (01).jpg|North field with tower of St. Edmund of Canterbury church

Airmail Balloon Flight plaque.jpg|Plaque commemorating airmail balloon flight

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References

  • The Friends of Croydon Road Recreation Ground