The Rom

Historic site in East London, England

51°33′22″N 0°11′17″E / 51.556°N 0.188°E / 51.556; 0.188Area8,000 square metres (86,000 sq ft)Built1978ArchitectAdrian Rolt

Listed Building – Grade II

Official nameThe Rom SkateparkDesignated11 September 2014Reference no.1419328^[1]

The Rom is a Grade II listed skatepark in Hornchurch, East London, England. Built in 1978 and designed by Adrian Rolt of G-Force, it is the most completely preserved purpose-built skatepark in England. It is the first skatepark in Europe to achieve listed status and the second such structure worldwide.

History

The Rom was built and opened in August 1978 and named after the adjacent River Rom. It was designed by Adrian Rolt of G-Force.^[1]^[2] Rolt is considered the leading skatepark designer of the 1970s. In 1979 John Greenwood took control of the Rom skatepark and kept it open for skateboarders and BMXers until 2018.

In 2014 it was given Grade II listed status becoming only the second skateboard park in the world to achieve preservation status after the Bro Bowl in Tampa, Florida.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8] Since the Bro Bowl has subsequently been 3D scanned, demolished, and rebuilt in a different location of the same park area^[9] the Rom is now the only heritage listed full size skatepark in existence.

A film about the history of the park - Rom Boys: 40 Years of Rad is currently on general release on major streaming platforms.^[10]

Layout

The skatepark occupies an area of 8,000 square metres (86,000 sq ft). The central 4,000 square metres (43,000 sq ft) is surfaced in Shotcrete pressurised concrete.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Historic England. "The Rom Skatepark (1419328)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
^ ^a ^b Brown, Mark (29 October 2014). "The Rom, Hornchurch, becomes first skatepark in Europe to get listed status". the Guardian. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
^ "Hornchurch's 1970s Rom skatepark given Grade II listed status". The Independent. 29 October 2014. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
^ "BBC News – London Rom skatepark given listed status". BBC News. 29 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
^ "1970s skatepark deemed a cultural gem given listed status". Telegraph.co.uk. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
^ "British skatepark becomes first in Europe to get heritage status". ITV News. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
^ "Why has English Heritage listed a skatepark?". Retrieved 29 October 2014.
^ Stott, Rory. "‘The Rom’ Becomes Europe’s First Listed Skatepark" 29 October 2014. ArchDaily. Accessed 29 October 2014.
^ "Demolition of historic Bro Bowl skateboard park begins". TBO.com. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
^ "Rom Boys – 40 Years of Rad". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 10 April 2018.