Shooters Hill Woodlands (also known as Oxleas Wood, Castle Woods, Jack Wood, Falconwood Dell)⁹⁴⁴⁹

Brief Description

Shooters Hill Woodlands include Oxleas Wood, Jack Wood and Castle Wood, as well as Sheperdleas Wood and Eltham Common. There are areas of ancient woodland at least 8000 years old and coppicing was practised from medieval times until the 1920s.

History

Shooters Hill follows the old Roman Watling Street, and the area was notorious for highwaymen. Bodies of convicted highwaymen were hung on gibbets along the road as a deterrent. The woodlands came into local authority management in the C20th, some areas on the fringes having been in private ownership such as Castle Wood and Jack Wood, both acquired in the 1920s and have remnants of formal gardens. Oxleas and Sheperdleas Woods were purchased in 1936, as was Falconwood, a house initially used as hotel, later incorporated into Oxleas Woods. Oxleas Meadows to the east of Jackwood was originally the site of Wood Lodge.

Visitor Facilities