The Rom facts for kids

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

It was built and opened in August 1978 and is named after the adjacent River Rom. It was designed by Adrian Rolt of G-Force. Rolt is considered the leading skatepark designer of the 1970s. In 1979 John Greenwood took control of the Rom Skatepark and with the help of his business acumen, he has managed to keep the Rom open for skateboarders and BMXers until 2018. In 1979 Andy lomas showed up with a mongoose super goose after years of skating it and started the BMX skatepark revolution.

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. The Bro Bowl has subsequently been demolished, 3D scanned and rebuilt in a different location of the same park area meaning that Rom is 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 .

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.