BY MARY MILLS
Many sites that once had industries on them have over the years been turned into places where people go to have fun and relax. Brookmill Park, on Brookmill Road, running from Deptford Bridge towards Lewisham, is one such site, an excellent example of how industrial buildings and sites can be turned to positive leisure and educational use.
The name ‘Brookmill’ itself is a clue to how the park originated. In the early 18th century a water mill on the River Ravensbourne was used to make a waterworks supplying fresh water to people in Greenwich and Deptford. This was done most successfully and wells on the side of the park still supply much of the water we use today.
Over the years the waterworks owners built reservoirs to store the water until it was needed, and in time these old ones were closed and new ones built. In 1880, a park was opened on the site, on an old reservoir that had been filled in. After the Second World War land was added to the park from bomb sites along Brookmill Road. At that time it was named ’Brookmill Park’, but in 1951 it was renamed ‘Ravensbourne Park’. In the 1990s it was made even larger during the construction of the Docklands Light Railway because by then the water works needed much less land. Its name reverted to ‘Brookmill Park’ again.
As you walk through the park there are many features which have survived from the days of the old waterworks. There is a beautiful garden with ponds, pergolas and flowerbeds. There is also part of an old reservoir which is now a lake full of water birds. It’s a really good example of how an industrial site can become something useful and beautiful.
At the Lewisham end of the park there is a footpath from the nearby Docklands Light Railway Station, which goes into the park. This path follows an old railway line which used to go from Greenwich to Nunhead. It continues to the other side of Brookmill Road where there is another separate nature reserve, only open to the public by appointment.
In the park where the original waterworks entrance was now stands the Stephen Lawrence Centre. This stunning new building is such a fitting memorial to the murdered teenager who had aspirations to be an architect himself. The centre offers educational activities to tackle under-achievement among young people.
On the other side of the river is the James Engine House, the remaining pumping station for the Brookmill waterworks. The water is pumped from deep wells and after more than 300 years It still provides high quality water to a great deal of the local area. Hidden among the houses and flats built on the far side of the river are the decorative ‘caps’ on top of wells which are no longer used.
A footpath and cycle path in the park are part of the Waterlink Way, which extends through Lewisham to Bromley. It also forms part of National Cycle Route 21, which goes all the way from the River Thames to Eastbourne.
Further information: brookmillpark.com
Books by Mary Mills are available at amazon.com
This article appeared in the Spring 2025 issue of Black + Green Magazine
