Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Commons totalling 460 hectares (1,140 acres). Putney Lower Common is set apart from the rest of the Common by a minimum of of the built-up western end of Putney.
Wimbledon and Putney Commons Wimbledon Common, together with Putney Heath and Putney Lower Common, is protected by the (34 & 35 Vict. c. cciv) from being enclosed or built upon. The common is for the benefit of the general public for informal recreation, and for the preservation of natural flora and fauna. It is the largest expanse of heathland in London, with an area of bog with a flora that is rare in the region. The western slopes, which lie on London Clay, support mature mixed woodland. The Commons are also an important site for the stag beetle.
Most of the Common is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and a Special Area of Conservation under the EC Habitats Directive. English Nature works with the Conservators on the management plan for the area. Wimbledon Common and Putney Heath are also a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation.
The Commons are administered by eight Conservators. Five of them are elected triennially and the remaining three are appointed by three government departments: the Department of the Environment, Ministry of Defence and Home Office. The Commons are managed by the Clerk and Ranger, supported by a Deputy, a Wildlife & Conservation Officer and a personal assistant. There are seven Mounted Keepers (who deal with public safety and security), two groundsmen (for the playing fields), six maintenance workers and one property maintenance worker – some 23 employees in total. There are at least four horses which are used by the Keepers on mounted patrol.
The Conservators are responsible for the annual budget of around £1m. Most of the revenue comes from an annual levy on houses within of the Commons. The levy payers are entitled to vote for the five elected Conservators. The levy payers fall within three London boroughs: Merton, Wandsworth (which includes Putney) and Kingston.
In 1864, the lord of the manor, Earl Spencer, who owned Wimbledon manor, attempted to pass a private parliamentary bill to enclose the Common for the creation of a new park with a house and gardens and to sell part for building. In a landmark decision for English common land, and following an enquiry, permission was refused and a board of conservators was established in 1871 to take ownership of the common and preserve it in its natural condition.
The windmill stands near the centre of Wimbledon Common as usually understood; in fact the unmarked parish boundary with Putney Common runs right past it (line marked --- on the map). Here Robert Baden-Powell wrote parts of Scouting for Boys, which was published in 1908.
In the 19th century the windmill was the headquarters of the National Rifle Association and drew large crowds each July for the Imperial Meeting - the Association's National Championship. "These annual gatherings are attended by the élite of fashion, and always include a large number of ladies, who generally evince the greatest interest in the target practice of the various competitors, whether it be for the honour of carrying off the Elcho Shield, the Queen's or the Prince of Wales's Prize, or the shield shot for by our great Public Schools, or the Annual Rifle Match between the Houses of Lords and Commons." The Association left Wimbledon in 1889 as the Meeting outgrew the ranges there, relocating for the 1890 Meeting at a new complex near Bisley, Surrey.
Two broad, shallow pools, Kingsmere and Rushmere, lie near roads on the higher parts of Wimbledon Common and seem to be the result of gravel extraction. The more remote Queensmere is somewhat deeper, being impounded in a small valley. These were often referred to as "Pen Ponds".
Beverley Brook runs along the western edge of Wimbledon Common. The watercourse was the historic south west London boundary, and is paralleled by the Beverley Brook Walk.
Near Beverley Brook and Warren Farm are two Local Nature Reserves managed by the London Wildlife Trust: Farm Bog and Fishpond Wood and Beverley Meads.
At the southern end of the common on the part used by the Royal Wimbledon Golf Club, but with a public footpath running through the middle, are the remains of an Iron Age hill fort known (in fact only since the 19th century) as Caesar's Camp. Though the main period of use as an oppidum seems to have been the 6th to 4th centuries BC, there is some evidence that it was indeed stormed by the Romans, probably in the Invasion of Britain by Claudius. It may have been taken by the Legio II Augusta under Vespasian in their push westwards in AD 44. It is possible the site was settled as far back as the Bronze Age, but it and the surrounding barrows were deliberately destroyed by John Erle-Drax in 1875.
During World War One, an area of the common known as The Plain was used as one of ten air bases protecting London. In 1914 and before, model aircraft were flown here.
Putney Heath
Charles II reviewed his forces on Putney Heath in 1684; in May 1767, George III reviewed the Guards, and the Surrey Volunteers at the same spot in 1799.Geikie, J. C. (1903). The Fascination of London: Hammersmith, Fulham and Putney. London: A & C Black, p. 85. The 300th anniversary of the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment was marked in 1961 when a tercentenary monument was unveiled and blessed on the heath. According to Samuel Pepys, Charles II and his brother, the Duke of York used to run horses on the heath.
A stone and brick obelisk was erected on Putney Heath in 1770, marking the 110th anniversary of the Great Fire of London, to coincide with the invention of the Hartley fire plates by David Hartley, near a spot where his fireproof house was built. The obelisk, with the ornately detailed foundation stone, is still standing and can be accessed via the car park adjacent to The Telegraph public house, off Wildcroft Road, SW15. The lower part of this house was repeatedly set on fire in the presence, among others, of George III and Queen Charlotte, the members of Parliament, the Lord Mayor, and the Aldermen.Geikie, J. C. (1903). The Fascination of London: Hammersmith, Fulham and Putney. London: A & C Black, p. 84. Since 1955 the obelisk has been a Grade II listed building. The adjacent Wildcroft Manor was formerly in the ownership of publishing magnate George Newnes, builder of Putney Library. In 1895 he was created a baronet "of Wildcroft, in the parish of Putney, in the county of London".
Many duels were fought on Putney Heath. In May 1652, a duel between George, the third Lord Chandos, and Colonel Henry Compton ended with Compton being killed. On a Sunday afternoon in May 1798 William Pitt, the then Prime Minister, who lived in Bowling-Green House on the heath, fought a bloodless battle with William Tierney, MP. The house derived its name from the bowling-green formerly attached to it, and for more than sixty years (1690–1750) was the most famous green in the neighbourhood of London. "In the early days of George III's reign it was celebrated for its public breakfasts and evening assemblies during the summer season. It was occupied for some time by Archbishop Cornwallis previous to Pitt taking up his residence there. During Pitt's ownership the house had large rooms for public breakfasts and assemblies, was a fashionable place of entertainment". Nearly a century earlier the property was noted for "deep play". Pitt died in the house in 1806 from typhus. It was later owned by Henry Lewis Doulton, son of Henry Doulton of pottery fame. It was demolished and an art deco style residence rebuilt on the site in 1933. Nearby stands Bristol House, which owes its name to the Bristol family. James Macpherson, the translator and author of the Ossian's Poems, had a villa on Putney Heath. The heath near the Telegraph pub was also the venue for the September 1809 duel between Cabinet ministers George Canning and Lord Castlereagh.Geikie, J. C. (1903). The Fascination of London: Hammersmith, Fulham and Putney. London: A & C Black, pp. 84–86.
Scio House was the last villa on Portsmouth Road abutting the heath: it eventually became a hospital and was known as Scio House Hospital for Officers, Putney. It has since been redeveloped as a gated community of 70 neo-Georgian homes divided into two streets.
Putney Heath is around in size and sits at approximately above sea level. Because of its elevation, from 1796 to 1816 Putney Heath hosted a station in the shutter telegraph chain, which connected the Admiralty in London to its naval ships in Portsmouth. This was replaced by a semaphore station, which was part of a semaphore line that operated between 1822 and 1847.
Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, was born on the north side of the heath circa 1485. He became a statesman who served as chief minister of Henry VIII and an agent of Cardinal Wolsey. In the 19th century his birthplace was still a place of note. "The site of Cromwell's birthplace is still pointed out by tradition, and is in some measure confirmed by the survey of Wimbledon Manor... for it describes on that spot 'an ancient cottage called the smith's shop, lying west of the highway from Richmond to Wandsworth, being the sign of the Anchor.' The plot of ground here referred to is now covered by the Green Man public house."
The wilderness was for many years a noted rendezvous for highwaymen. In 1795, the notorious highwayman Jeremiah Abershaw – also known as Jerry Avershaw – was caught in the pub (now owned by Wandsworth brewery Young's,) on the north side of the heath where Putney Hill meets Tibbet's Ride. After Abershaw's execution at Kennington, his body was hung in a chain gibbet on the heath, as a warning to others. The location on the heath is known as Jerry's Hill. It is viewable from the A3 near Putney Vale, slightly uphill from Putney Vale Cemetery where a number of famous people have since been buried or cremated. Abershaw frequented the Bald Face Stag Inn. The inn was later knocked down and became the KLG factory, founded by Kenelm Lee Guinness, part of the famous brewing dynasty and a noted early motor racer before developing highly reliable auto and aero spark plugs. The factory site is now occupied by an Asda supermarket.
Above the hill peak of the A3 at Tibbet's Corner – on the A219 towards Putney – stands an ancient wood fence cattle pound opposite the Green Man, adjacent to two huge plane trees near the bus terminus. This simple wood fence structure, used historically to contain lost livestock, has been listed as a Grade II listed structure since 1983. A number of fine homes lined Putney Hill and the north face of the heath, west of the Green Man. All had semi-circular carriageway entrances and exits.Bailey, Keith. Old Ordnance Survey Maps, Putney 1913. South Shields: Godfrey Maps These included Grantham House, the residence of Lady Grantham; Ripon House; Ashburton House; and Exeter House, occupied by the second Marquis of Exeter. Grantham House had a large fountain in its grounds between road and residence, while across the road on the heath was a large, shallow rectangular pond used for ice skating. Grantham House stood east of both Exeter and Ashburton houses, on the site of the present-day Hayward Gardens. The skating pond was filled in post-WWII. George Cokayne, author of peerage and baronetage publications, died at Exeter House in 1911. Nearby Gifford House was owned by J. D. Charrington of brewing fame; and Dover House was the seat originally of Lord Dover, afterwards of Lord Clifden.