West Wickham Common ⁹⁵¹⁶

Brief Description

The land forms a steep scarp face and a flat area on its crest, mainly formed in gravels of the Harwich Formation. There are conspicuous earthworks of various dates from Neolithic to 1580, and oak pollards that are at least 600 years old.

History

West Wickham Common was wasteland of the Old Manor of West Wickham. What remains of the common is closely connected with Hayes Common, formerly wasteland of the Manor of Baston. In the 1860s the Lord of both manors, Sir John Lennard, began to sell off plots of West Wickham Common for villas. It was feared that Hayes Common would go the same way, but following opposition it gained legal protection against enclosure in 1869. After a major public campaign the final 26 acres of West Wickham Common were purchased in 1892 by the Corporation of London for public open space.

Visitor Facilities