Introduction
The Lee Valley Regional Park has a rich and diverse history. From industrial sites to places where plots were hatched, there are various places throughout the Regional Park that you can visit to find out about our heritage.
Just a few places are described below, but each of our unique sites has its own history and is worth discovering for yourself.
Lee Valley Regional Park Sites
The River Lee
Running from the River Thames north into Hertfordshire, the River Lee offers a haven for boating away from the hustle and bustle of the City of London.
The River itself is steeped in history being the subject of the first Act for navigational improvement of any river in the British Isles in 1424 to becoming a major cargo route for local industries during the industrial revolution. However, since the Second World War commercial traffic has virtually ceased on the upper reaches of the Lee and the River Stort giving way of leisure cruising.
Flowing through open countryside and the Lee Valley Regional Park the river offers access to a variety of leisure activities and numerous nature reserves. The Lee Valley Regional Park Authority operates two Stanstead Abbots Marina and Springfield Marina on the River Lee providing berthing.
Sites Around the Lee Valley Regional Park
Springfield Park
“No more beautiful landscape of meadows, forest, hill and water is to be found so near London, in so small a space…” so wrote Benjamin Clarke, describing the view from the Park in 1894 and it’s still the place to take in the view today!
You can see the massive expanse of the reservoirs which supply London with drinking water and the winding route of the River Lee Navigation. The park is a Regionally Important Geological Site and it has even been suggested that Christopher Wren lived nearby and 18th century maps refer to the park as ‘Wren’s Park’.
The Markfield Beam Engine & Museum
Well worth a visit to admire the machine which played such a vital role in the history of the area. You’ll see the Wood Bros. Victorian Beam Engine in action and the building which houses this incredible machine was built in 1886.
Contact: Markfield Road, South Tottenham, London Borough of Haringey, London N15 4RB. Tel: 020 8800 7061.
The Old Coppermill
There’s been a mill on this site for centuries. They were used to grind corn, roll paper, grind gunpowder and make linseed oil. The present building is grade II listed and dates from the 1800’s when barges carrying copper ingots travelled from Wales, were unloaded with the crane and jib (still there today) rolled into thin sheets and stamped out to produce penny and halfpenny tokens.