Ravensbury Park

Ravensbury Park is 6.68 hectares of woodland, with a nature reserve, lakes and ponds, an outdoor gym and play area.

In the 17th and 18th centuries the park was part of the burgeoning Wandle Valley industrial growth area, with Ravensbury Mill on the river and a calico factory to the north.

It formed part of the Ravensbury Park Estate of Ravensbury Manor – the foundations of which can still be seen amongst dense young woodland and ivy.

John Arbuthnott, who owned the estate in the mid 18th century, laid out the gardens and created walks along the river bank and round Ravensbury Meadow, in the centre of the park, which may have been used for calico bleaching and drying.

To preserve the park for public use, Mitcham, Merton and Morden Councils bought the land and opened it as Ravensbury Park in 1930.