Draft:Test BL

Black Lion Field is historically an open grass area in Gillingham, Kent (just west of the Mill Road and Brompton Road junction) that later became Medway Park Sports Centre. In the 1920s it lay adjacent to the Gillingham war memorial (unveiled 1924), whose original location at the High St/Mill Rd/Brompton Rd/Marlborough Rd roundabout was beside Black Lion Field. By the 2000s the field itself had been taken into redevelopment: an £11.1 million project from 2008 to 2012 replaced the old leisure centre with the new Medway Park sports complex, including an eight-lane athletics track.

Church Path and Local Roads

The footpath historically known as “Church Path” ran north–south across Black Lion Field. It connected Prince Arthur Road (to the north) with Mill Road (to the south) through what was then open ground. A 2005 Medway Council map labels the path “Church Path” between the Indoor Bowls Centre site and Mill Road (later renamed Saunders Street in some records). Nearby streets included Khyber Road (running west from the bowls centre toward MidKent College) and Mill Road itself. Mill Road (formerly called Fox Lane) was the main east–west route past the field. Together these lanes provided local access: for example, Church Path linked Brompton (via Prince Arthur Rd) to the Black Lion area and the Lower Lines military zone.

Allotments and Bowls Centre

Just south of Prince Arthur Road the former playing fields were converted to allotment gardens by the late 20th century. An Ordnance Survey map from 2005 clearly shows an area labeled “Allotment Gardens” on Prince Arthur Road adjacent to “Prince Arthur Park”. This allotment site still exists today and is known as “Black Lion Mill Road Allotment”. Also on Prince Arthur Road, the Prince Arthur Road Indoor Bowls Centre was opened in 1989. The club reports that it has eight bowling rinks and serves the Medway area; it remains one of the largest indoor bowls facilities in Kent. A path runs from Khyber Road through this area into what is now Prince Arthur Park (a small wooded recreation area).

Gillingham War Memorial

The Gillingham War Memorial (a tapering stone cenotaph) originally stood at the Mill Road/Brompton Road junction near Black Lion Field. It was unveiled in July 1924 to honour World War I dead (later inscribed for WWII and Korea). In the 1960s traffic increased at the junction, so in the early 1970s the memorial was relocated about 20 m across Mill Road to a new landscaped site at the entrance of the then-proposed Black Lion Leisure Centre (now Medway Park). This move improved public access and safety. At the time of its original dedication, the surrounding Black Lion Field was still undeveloped open space. (A small planted roundabout with lamps once surrounded the memorial, but that feature was removed after the move.)

Prince Arthur Park and Heritage Structures

South of Prince Arthur Road the land is now Prince Arthur Park, a public park on the old Chatham Lines (Lower Lines) fortifications. A 2005 map shows “Prince Arthur Park” in this area bounded by Allotment Gardens and adjoining woodland. During World War II these Lines were incorporated into Medway’s anti-invasion defences. For example, 1939–41 plans show demolition charges placed on bridges in this vicinity (such as on Khyber Road and at the R.E. Electrical School) as part of anti-tank measures. Concrete pillbox emplacements and sloping anti-tank walls were built along the ditch lines. Remnants of these WWII defenses can still be found hidden in the scrubby woods alongside Prince Arthur Park. Today the park is largely open lawn with mature trees. A children’s playground was installed at the Mill Road end of the park (visible in maps as “Playground” at Saunders Street/Mill Road).

Military Buildings and MOD Ownership

The area around Prince Arthur Park was long associated with the military. To the southwest along Khyber Road stood the Collingwood Barracks complex and other Royal Engineers facilities. A Ministry of Defence FOI response confirms that the Collingwood building (on Khyber Road) – like most of the former defence estate – is owned by the MOD. Similarly, a Kent Online article noted that land at the Khyber/Prince Arthur Road corner (near MidKent College) is owned by the MOD. In practice the MOD owns much of the land south of Prince Arthur Road, including Khyber Road itself. Some adjoining houses (e.g. in St. Mary’s Gardens/Johnson Avenue to the east) were built postwar for service families. In summary, almost all buildings on Khyber Road and surrounding the old Black Lion site are or were MOD property.

Black Lion Skatepark

Between 1978 and 1987 the Black Lion Field housed a pioneering concrete skatepark for skateboards and BMX bikes. Opened in 1978, it was one of the first purpose-built parks of its kind in Britain. The park was funded and constructed by Alfred Faccenda and featured a deep “pool” bowl (often cited as among the best in the country) along with halfpipes and rampslocalauthority.news. It operated as a commercial venue (with paid entry, marshals and a shop) and became internationally renowned in the early 1980s. By 1985 the site was being expanded and reconfigured, but tensions with nearby residents grew. In December 1987 the park was abruptly closed: contractors filled in the concrete bowls with rubble and grassed over the sitelocalauthority.news. (Planning permission had been granted that year for a new skatepark on the site, but this was never built.) The Black Lion Skatepark is now part of local heritage: its history was celebrated at Medway events in the 2020s.