Wanstead Park at The Temple and Wanstead Park

Contact

The Manager
Tel: 020 8508 0028
email a friend

Venue

The Temple and Wanstead Park

The Temple, Wanstead, London, E11 2LT

www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/eppingforest

See location on Google maps.    

Map reference: TQ 416874  Lat: 51.56770  Long: 0.04166

Getting here
The Temple and Wanstead Park are within 15 minutes’ walk from Wanstead station (Central Line).
There is parking for holders of Disabled car badges alongside The Temple (vehicle access from Warren Drive) only.

Nearest station : Wanstead station

Wanstead Park was originally the site of medieval manor houses and later a Tudor mansion, owned at one time by the Earl of Leicester. Wanstead House was rebuilt in 1715 as one of the great Palladian mansions of its day. Extravagant living and bankruptcy caused the family’s downfall in 1822 and the house itself was finally demolished in 1825.
Two Listed buildings both built in the 1760's remain within the Grade II* (Grade ll* means it is an area of more than special interest, warranting every effort to preserve) historic parkland:
• The Temple and
• The Grotto which is the ruin of the ornamental boathouse
Wanstead Park was purchased by the City of London Corporation in 1882 and still contains many interesting historic features including extensive ornamental waterways.
One spectacular feature of Wanstead Park in the spring is the bluebells which can be found in Chalet Wood. Wanstead Park, unlike the rest of Epping Forest, is closed at dusk. There are public toilets available when the Park is open.
The Temple, a historic building with a classical portico, dates from the 1760s. It houses our Forest Centre in the South of Epping Forest and a small shop with guides to Wanstead Park as well as more general information on the Forest and a selection of books and giftware.
The Temple was built as a fashionable garden feature by John Child, Earl Tylney, and like the Grotto of similar date, was designed to enhance the elaborate landscaped gardens of Wanstead House. It first appears on a 1777 map labelled as the Pheasant House and was later used as accommodation for Keepers on the estate.
Watch out for the historic 300 year old chestnut trees, the parish church of St Mary the Virgin where the owners of Wanstead Park are buried and the Stables, Basin and site of Wanstead House, now within the private grounds of the Wanstead Golf Club. There is parking for holders of Disabled car badges alongside The Temple (vehicle access from Warren Drive) only.
Facilities
• There is a refreshment kiosk open at peak times for hot drinks and snacks by Perch Pond.
• There are public toilets at The Temple (open until dusk, 7 days a week).
• The ground floor of The Temple is fully accessible.
• The upper floor is reached by a sloping path and several shallow steps.
Opening Times
• Open Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays 10am - 3pm from 1 October 2012 until 31 March 2013 and from 12noon-5pm from 1 April 2013 until 30th September 2013.
• The Temple is also open on Bank Holidays; it is closed on Christmas Day

Events at this venue

Select event title for details

date	event
Sat 25 May 2013	Walk: A Ramble around the Rhododendrons
Sun 2 Jun 2013	Walk: Forest Keeper Monthly Walk
Thu 6 Jun 2013	Wanstead Park Walk
Sat 6 Jul 2013 - Sun 29 Sep 2013	Exhibition: Wish you were here
Sat 13 Jul 2013	Music in the Park
Sat 27 Jul 2013	Walk: Love parks - Love Wanstead
Sat 21, Sun 22 Sep 2013	Open House Extra
Sun 1 Dec 2013	Walk: Forest Keeper Monthly Walk