London’s Commons, Heaths and Greens

The LPG Inventory lists commons, heaths and greens among its approximately 2,600 entries. They range from Monken Hadley Common, Barnet in the north to Keston Common, Bromley in the south. Many are well known, such as Hampstead Heath and Wandsworth and Clapham Commons.

Both commons and greens have defined meanings and both have Acts of Parliament governing them. Commons are lands to which rights of common – such as grazing, gathering of fuel and digging gravel – apply or used to apply. Greens originated with the obligatory allotment of land for exercise and recreation in Enclosure Acts; after 1845, if an Enclosure Act did not include a green, the reason hac to be justified in a report to Parliament. Under the Commons Registration Act 1995, augmented by the Commons Act 2006, all commons and village or town greens have to be registered by the local commons registration authority, which in London is the local borough council.

In 2005, English Heritage (now Historic England) commissioned David Lambert and Sally Williams of the Parks Agency to investigate and write a report on the 111 commons, heaths and greens then listed in Greater London. This report remained a valuable point of reference, and in 2014 English Heritage made it available to the public David Lambert, one of the founders of the Parks Agency, is a notable researcher and expert on the conservation of historic parks and gardens. Sally Williams is Keeper of the Inventory at LPG, and data held in the Inventory provided the starting point for their research.

The report was commissioned to study and identify historic environment conservation issues, and priorities for future study and funding. It included a review of existing information, a statistical overview, a sample survey, site visits to 25 sites and case studies of a further five sites. In its survey, the report looked for observable changes in the 25 sites in 2005 compared to documentary sources and late 19th and early 20th century maps.

Not surprisingly, given the lack of grazing animals, 44% of sites had increased growth of trees and scrub. A further 87% had formal tree planting schemes. Many commons and greens had lost margins to highway development and had space allocated for car parks. There were leisure developments and formal sports provision and, in many cases, new surfaced paths and unsympathetic municipal furniture and lighting.

The authors made a number of recommendations which are still relevant today. They emphasised the importance of understanding the historical significance of a site to enable appropriate management plans to be developed. Clear statements of significance and of value should be established to understand the impact of any proposed developments. There was, and still is, the need to determine whether a site was to be a public park or a common, and to try to get consensus in the community.

It was noted that while the historical significance of a green space might not always be fully appreciated, the ecological value often was. Since 2005, there have been more advances in managing sites for biodiversity and ecological conservation. These improvements are often effected by local volunteers working in collaboration with the site management. To cite a few examples:

• a voluntary conservation group in Hounslow Heath was set up five years ago to clear and maintain their nature reserve on a weekly basis;
• the Friends of Plumstead Common’s environment group rescued and restored Workhouse Wood on the demolished St Nicholas Hospital site, one of the areas listed in the report for ecological enhancement;
• the Wandsworth Common Friends Group, set up in 2018, hold sessions to help maintain and encourage biodiversity on the Common.

Eighteen years on from the publication of the report, there is a need for more up-to-date research to be carried out. For example, the report commented that – although it listed observable changes at the time – no assessment was made as to whether these changes were for the good. There has been little assessment of subsequent changes.

The LPG Research Group would welcome anyone interested in contributing new research – find out more at londongardenstrust.org/support/vols/become-a-volunteer. London’s commons, heaths and greens incorporate a very wide variety of different open spaces and are being asked to fulfil a range of public needs. As such, they present a complex management challenge. It is vital to understand their rich social history, and the development of the character and appearance of the landscape over time.