Fairlop Plains the land laid out by Crown Commissioners after clearance of the forest 1851
1935 City of London expressed interest to build a civic Airport on site of Fairlop plain and purchased 1,000 acres of the plain in 1937
Scheme rejected by the Government and with threat of Second World the scheme was shelved never to be restored, in 1953 the Government announced that Fairlop Plain unsuitable for use as a civil airport.
September 1940 work on airfield started [one of the 21 airfields] built in Essex.
August1941 First plane landed
Feb 1944 the airfield was used as a Barrage Balloon Centre
September 1945 the airfield became vacant
For a period of time it became vacant
Purchased by Ilford Council in1955 from the London County Council
Gravel was excavated from the area by a company named P T Reeds
It became a landfill site for the waste rubbish for the Borough
The Fairlop Sailing Lake and Fishing Lake were results of excavation
And is used by the schools and community
A bike circuit track was built
1987 Fairlop Waters and golf course were built and the area was developed into open parkland
Fairlop Oak
Fairlop Fair was started in the 18th century [ 1725] by Daniel Day under the famous Fairlop oak which stood until 1820.
Actual location of where the oak stood is still debatable
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