Paddington Recreation Ground

It was selected in 1995 by the LEU as a non-statutory Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC).

[1][2] It was first used for recreational purposes in 1860 when the local church laid down a cricket pitch for the parish community to share.

On 9 July 1890, the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) visited the park with his wife and daughters.

[4] In 2006, Westminster City Council launched a £3.5 million regeneration programme, enabling extensive refurbishments to be carried out at the grounds to "meet changing community needs and environmental demands".

Catford Cycling Club first held track races in the grounds in 1889, just one year after the park was opened to the public.

[6] The original running track, which was removed in 1987 to make way for the new cricket pitch, was used by Roger Bannister in the early 1950s to train for the four minute mile attempt, while he was a medical student at the nearby St Mary's Hospital in Paddington.

[9] Another blue plaque at the pavilion honours the success of former professional racing cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins, who learned to ride a bike in the park as a child while living in nearby Kilburn.

Paddington Recreation Ground
The Richard Beachcroft Pavilion
Commemorative plaque at the pavilion
Blue circular plaque which reads: City of Westminster – unveiled on 10th September 2000 – Sir Roger Bannister – while a medical student at St. Mary's hospital medical school from 1951–54, trained on the cinder track on this site in preparation for the first under 4 minute mile run in Oxford on 6th May 1954.
Sir Roger Bannister's blue plaque