Half a Century of Brent River Park to Be Celebrated

Event will remember visionary pioneer, Luke FitzHerbert

(L-R) Mayor of Ealing, Cllr John Johnston and Luke FitzHerbert plant the first Brent River Park sign post outside St Mary's Church on Churchfields (29 June 1975). Picture: Colin Miell

June 3, 2025

A special event is being planned this month to mark the 50th anniversary of Brent River Park (BRP).

It was almost half a century since it was inaugurated by the then Mayor of Ealing, Cllr. John Johnston, on Sunday 29 June 1975.

Exactly half a century later, on Sunday 29 June 2025, the Brent River Park charity, with the support of Ealing Council, will marking this milestone on Churchfields Recreation Ground. The planned celebration will aim to recreate some of the ‘unplugged’, nature-based and joyful atmosphere and events from the time, including Morris dancers, a maypole and a variety of art and food stalls.

The charity is inviting people to come along to between 12pm – 5pm not just to consider its beginnings but also look to the next 50 Years of the Brent River Park.

A family-friendly programme of free ‘Brent River Park, Urban Countryside’ events will take place throughout the afternoon. A series of walks and talks will explore the park’s history and encourage curiosity and care towards all the amazing wildlife that calls the park home. For those feeling creative there will be art and writing sessions inspired by the nature and landscape of the park. For the more energetic, there will be a social morning run following the river through the park.

This date also marks the 25th birthday of the Millenium Maze which will be celebrated with children’s activities and a Mad Hatter Storyteller. The full programme will be published on the Brent River Park website in the coming weeks as well as being clearly marked on the day.

Brent River Park supporters celebrate (29 June 1975) Picture: Middlesex County Times

A series of three new history boards will be erected throughout the park, the first of which will be unveiled on Churchfields Recreation Ground on the day, telling the story of the park’s creation and the founder of the Brent River Park charity, Luke FitzHerbert.

Today, the park might look as if it has always been there but in the early 1970s, things were very different. The idea of connecting these abandoned and misused green spaces together into a large, multi-habitat, single park along the River Brent was the radical vision of Luke FitzHerbert. Luke was a former Irish Guardsman, a lover of the outdoors and a history teacher at Brentside High School. He gathered a group of like-minded people and formed a volunteer group, the Brent River & Canal Society, which was registered as a charity in September 1973.

Luke FitzHerbert leads a walk on the newly opened Brent River Park footpath through Brent Meadow (29 June 1975). Picture: BRP archive

Luke wrote piece for the Ealing Gazette in June 1974 outlining the society’s vision to “turn neglected riverbanks into a green ribbon of parkland”. He described how rusting chain-link fences blocked many potential footpaths. Long Wood and the Wharncliffe Viaduct were fenced off and inaccessible. Large sections of Elthorne Park and Perivale Park were fly-tipped. It should be possible, Luke argued, to walk from Hanger Lane to the Thames by following footpaths through this new connected park following the flow of the River Brent.

Eventually after much campaigning and negotiation, Ealing Council approved the plan and the Brent River Park was formally inaugurated on 29 June 1975. The park was then expanded until, in 1986, the pathway under the Wharncliffe Viaduct was opened, realising Luke’s vision of a connected park between Hanger Hill and the Great West Road. Appropriately, a section of the Brent River Park path running alongside Ealing Hospital was named FitzHerbert Walk. To celebrate the 50 years, 50 new way markers are to replace the original ones, once again clearly marking the entire route of Luke’s Brent River Park Walk.

Luke FitzHerbert and Mayor of Ealing, Cllr Norman Pointing, at the opening of 'FitzHerbert Walk', named in honour of Luke, that runs alongside Ealing Hospital. (8 May 1983) Picture: BRP archive

In 2007, Luke and his wife Kay were struck by a speeding car while walking to their moored boat. Luke was killed and Kay suffered life-changing injuries. Tributes poured in, including two obituaries in The Guardian, describing Luke as ‘a hero of the voluntary sector.’ His s legacy endures, not only in his hugely successful campaign to bring the Brent River Park to life but also in the world of charities where he had a second influential career with the National Council for Voluntary Organisations and the Directory of Social Change.

Recently, the Brent River Park charity has successfully campaigned for Local Nature Reserve designation for Warren Farm Nature Reserve and surrounding meadows, which is currently in progress, and is working to improve the health of the river through its Clean Up the River Brent (CURB) campaign. The 50th anniversary will also see the launch of a fundraiser for some ambitious initiatives to bring further improvements to the park and river, continuing Luke’s legacy. Further details will be announced closer to the event.

Brent River Park charity Trustee Steven Toft remarked, “The Brent River Park’s 50th anniversary is both an opportunity to celebrate the past and a springboard for the future. We can continue the legacy left by Luke FitzHerbert and the original charity campaigners to make the River Brent and our park even more beneficial for our community and urban wildlife. Following the ongoing work of the Warren Farm Nature Reserve and Clean Up the River Brent campaigns, we have some exciting ambitions for the Brent River Park. We’re moving forward while staying true to the original vision. We believe these initiatives reflect the spirit of Luke's work. Like him, we are laying the groundwork for the next generation.”

Churchfields Recreation Ground is at W7 3BN with the nearest station being Hanwell Station on the Elizabeth Line.

To become a free member of the Brent River Park / Brent River and Canal Society charity, stay up-to-date and find out more about the Brent River Park visit its website: www.brentriverpark.org and follow @BrentRiverPark on Twitter / X, BlueSky and Instagram.