Pond in Claybury Park

Image: © Marathon Taken: 25 Jan 2017

Claybury Park was once part of the Claybury estate, held by Barking Abbey from the 12th century. It contains Claybury and Hospital Hill Woods, remnants of the ancient woodland of Hainault Forest. Claybury was developed into a fine gentleman's estate from 1786 by James Hatch, who built a new mansion, expanded the estate and commissioned Humphry Repton to advise on landscaping the parkland. In 1887 the estate was sold and Claybury Asylum was built by 1893 on the brow of a hill, the first mental hospital built by the new London County Council. From 1893 to 1918 it was called Claybury Asylum, from 1918 to 1937 Claybury Mental Hospital, and from 1937 to its closure in 1995 Claybury Hospital In 1997 the Health Authority sold the Hospital estate for an exclusive private housing development, renamed Repton Park, but 18 hectares of ancient woodland and 38 hectares of parkland became part of a new public park, Claybury Park. This also incorporated Redbridge Open Space to the south, itself part of the Claybury estate until the 1880s. For more about Claybury Hospital see http://hidden-london.com/gazetteer/claybury/ and http://ezitis.myzen.co.uk/claybury.html and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claybury_Hospital This pond is in the south of the park next to Ravensbourne Gardens. This was a freezing day where early fog had cleared to mist. The pond was still frozen.

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