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Chinbrook is an area of south east London, England, located 14 km (8.7 mi) southeast of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham. Chinbrook lies between Grove Park and Mottingham, approximately half a mile east of Grove Park centre and is generally considered part of Grove Park.
Most of Chinbrook including the main crossroads falls within the London Borough of Lewisham and under the postcode district SE12, although immediately northeast from the crossroads is the border with the London Borough of Bromley and the SE9 postcode district. The River Quaggy flows northward through Chinbrook and forms part of the borough and postal boundaries there.
The name Chinbrook is derived from "Chin Brook" which was an alternative name for the Quaggy River at the turn of the twentieth century. The place Kidbrooke is also on the River Quaggy and its name is also derived from an alternative name for the river, "Kyd Brook". Chinbrook is occasionally mispronounced and misspelled "Chimbrook".
Chinbrook Meadows sometimes Chinbrook Meadow is one of Lewisham's public open spaces or parks in the south of Chinbrook and Grove Park, the area was previously occupied by Chinbrook Farm, a dairy farm. The park was first formally opened to the public in 1929 and was then a children's play area of 8-acre (32,000 m²), on the edge of the recently built Grove Park Estate; London County Council purchased a further 23 acres (93,000 m²); and the larger area was opened to the public in June 1937.
The majority of the park is maintained short grass with footpaths and lined with tall trees and bisected by the River Quaggy; the grass often has markings for football pitches, a cricket ground and other sports and is used by local schools for sports days. Chinbrook meadows also contains public toilets, public concrete tennis courts, and a football pitch and basketball court in one, plus a children's play area with a paddling pool. Some of the many footpaths crossing the park form part of The Green Chain Walk and Capital Ring. The Quaggy River flows northward through Chinbrook Meadows. In the 1960s the river within the park was channelized into a long straight concrete culverts to alleviate flooding and was closed off behind tall hedges and iron fences, this cut the park in two with the larger part to the east of the river. In the early 2000s however the concrete channel with its fences and hedges was demolished and river was remodeled to give a natural, meandering appearance with a small flood plain; this was to encourage wild plants and animals back to the area and to be more pleasant and attractive for the public. There are several foot bridges with wooden hand rails over the river, that replaced the concrete ones with iron fences. The regeneration was completed on 1 October 2002 and cost a reported £1.1million.
The small southern part of Chinbrook Meadows became allotments, but many were in disuse in the early 1990s and a government grant paid for trees to be planted on some of the area, although some of the allotments still remain in use. The park is around half a mile long north to south, half as wide and is surrounded by Chinbrook Road to the north, Mayeswood Road to the east and the railway line to the south and west, under the railway line there is a pedestrian subway tunnel that crosses the borough boundary into Bromley and links the park to a much smaller green area southwest of the main park. The footpath that leaves the southeast corner of Chinbrook Meadows is part of the Green Chain Walk passes the allotments then Grove Park Cemetery before entering Elmstead.
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