The land was purchased by the Beckenham Local Board to provide a public open space which had been lacking since the loss of the Fair Field for housing in the 1870s. The site was part of open farmland which stretched along Croydon Road, and it first came into use in the autumn of 1890, prior to its formal opening. It was the location for the first British public airmail flight in 1902, and houses a bandstand which is now named after David Bowie, following his appearance there at the Beckenham Arts Lab Growth Summer Festival in 1969.
Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk
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