19th century

A painting of Chinbrook Meadows from1898

Chinbrook Meadows was a dairy farm until the early 1900s when it was bought by Lewisham Council and opened as a park, particularly aimed at the residents of the new Grove Park housing estate. The park takes its name from the river Quaggy, sometimes known as Kyd Brook or Chinbrook, which runs through it. For many years the river was cannelised and fenced off from park users. In 2002 a scheme to naturalise the river was finally realised. The work was completed through local consultation and partnership between; the Environment Agency, Quaggy Waterways Action Group (QWAG), Lewisham Council , Glendale parks management and Groundwork