Inventory Site Record

Bursted Woods is a remnant of the more extensive woodland that once covered the area, with Erith Road marking an old route between villages of Bexleyheath in the south and Northumberland Heath in the north. It is now public open space consisting of recreational grassland in the north and woodland in the south, mainly sweet chestnut and oak, providing an important habitat for wildlife. Part of the former woodland is now occupied by Bursted Wood Primary School.

Site location:

Swanbridge Road/Erith Road, Bexleyheath

Postcode:

DA8

What 3 Words:

insist.until.arrow

Type of site:

Public Open Land

Borough:

Bexley

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

unrestricted

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Putting greens

Events:

Public transport:

Rail: Barnehurst. Bus: 89, 229.

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/06/2012

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.bexley.gov.uk

Bursted Wood once abutted other woodland including Three Corner Wood and Conduit Wood to the east of Erith Road, which marks the old route between the villages of Bexleyheath and Northumberland Heath. The village of Bexleyheath arose following the Enclosure Award of 1819 when houses were built around the junction of the road across the heath. At one time known as Bexley New Town and later as Bexley Heath, in 1894 the name changed to Bexleyheath. Although Bexley Heath Railway Company constructed its railway line to the south of Bursted Wood, crossing Conduit Wood, and Barnehurst Station opened nearby in 1895, the area remained quite rural until the railway line was electrified in 1926. The area around the village included market gardens that supplied cereal and fruit crops, as well as flowers, that were transported to London, and farmland remained on the heath into the 1930s. There was a pond in the north-east corner of Bursted Wood until the 1930s when the northern part was cleared of woodland. OS maps show a sand pit and earth works here and to the north new housing on Rydal Drive. An adjacent wooded area to the north-west, known as Butler's Shaw, had also disappeared under housing. By then Bexley Maternity Hospital had opened in the south-west corner of Bursted Wood, to the north of which was another area of cleared woodland that was later used for allotment gardens and is now the site of Bursted Wood Primary School.

Sources consulted:

Darrell Spurgeon, 'Discover Crayford and Erith', (Greenwich guide books, 1995)

Grid ref:

TQ498762 (549830,176470)

Size in hectares:

10.75

Site ownership:

LB Bexley

Site management:

Parks and Open Spaces

Date(s):

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

None

On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

No

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

No

Local Authority Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

No

Tree Preservation Order:

No

Nature Conservation Area:

Yes - Borough II Importance

Green Belt:

Metropolitan Open Land:

No

Special Policy Area:

No

Other LA designation:

Urban Open Space