Coordinates: 51°21′30″N0°02′05″E / 51.3584°N 0.0348°E
Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Location | Greater London |
---|---|
Grid reference | TQ417643 |
Interest | Biological |
Area | 24.1 hectares |
Notification | 1987 |
Location map | Magic Map |
Keston Common is a 55 hectare area of public open space in Keston in the London Borough of Bromley. Most of it is heathland and dry acid grassland on the Blackheath Pebble Beds. [1] [2] Almost all the common together with a small part of the neighbouring Hayes Common is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. [1] [3]
The land was formerly part of the estate of Holwood House, and in the early nineteenth century three ponds were constructed to provide water to the house. [2] It is only two miles from Charles Darwin's home, Down House, and he often visited to study the plants and animals there. It helped to provide the materials for his works on earthworms and carnivorous plants. 'Darwin's Landscape Laboratory', which included Keston Common, was the British Government's 2009 nominee for a World Heritage Site, but the application was unsuccessful. [4] In 1926 the then owner of the common, Lord Stanley, donated it to the parish. [2]
The common is a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation and an Area of Archaeological Significance with earthworks which are a listed structure. Two of the ponds are now used for fishing. [2] The Friends of Keston Common work to conserve and protect it. [5] [6] 21.5 hectares is registered Common Land. [7]
There is access from Westerham Road, Heathfield Road and Fishponds Road. [2]
Beckenham is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located 8.4 miles (13.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west of Bromley and Shortlands. Its population at the 2011 census counted 46,844 inhabitants.
Biggin Hill is a settlement on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Kent, prior to 1965 it was also in the administrative county of Kent. It is situated beyond London's urban sprawl, 15.2 miles (24.5 km) south-southeast of Charing Cross, with Keston to the north, New Addington to the north-west and Tatsfield, in the neighbouring county of Surrey, to the south. At the 2011 Census, Biggin Hill had a population of 9,951.
Keston is a village in Greater London, England, located within the London Borough of Bromley, Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was within the historic county of Kent. It is part suburban, part rural in nature and lies on the edge of Hayes Common, just beyond the London conurbation to the south of Bromley Common. It includes the small hamlet of Nash to the southwest. The northern, more suburban part of Keston is sometimes referred to as Keston Mark.
Beckenham is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2010 by Bob Stewart, a Conservative.
Bromley and Chislehurst is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2006 by Bob Neill, a Conservative.
Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 9+1⁄2 miles southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011.
The River Ravensbourne is a tributary of the River Thames in south London, England. It flows into the tidal River Thames at Deptford, where its tidal reach is known as Deptford Creek.
Downe, formerly Down, is a village in Greater London, England, located within the London Borough of Bromley but beyond the London urban sprawl. Downe is 3.4 miles (5.5 km) south west of Orpington and 14.2 miles (22.9 km) south east of Charing Cross. Downe lies on a hill, and much of the centre of the village is unchanged; the former village school now acts as the village hall. The word Downe originates from the Anglosaxon word dūn, latterly down, hence the South and North Downs. In April 1965, Downe and the remaining part of Orpington Urban District Council, was abolished, and transferred from the historic county of Kent and placed within the newly created London Borough of Bromley.
Syon Park is the garden of Syon House, the London home of the Duke of Northumberland in Isleworth in the London Borough of Hounslow. It was landscaped by Capability Brown in the 18th century, and it is Grade I listed by English Heritage under the Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953 for its special historic interest. The 56.6-hectare (140-acre) main gardens are a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade I, and the flood meadows next to the River Thames are a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation.
Ravensbourne was a borough constituency in the London Borough of Bromley in south London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the first-past-the-post system. It existed from the February 1974 general election until it was abolished for the 1997 general election.
Ingrebourne Marshes are a 74.8 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Hornchurch in the London Borough of Havering. Ingrebourne Valley Local Nature Reserve includes a small part of the SSSI west of the River Ingrebourne. The site is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust
High Elms Country Park is an extensive 250-acre (100 ha) public park on the North Downs in Farnborough in the London Borough of Bromley. It is a Local Nature Reserve, and together with the neighbouring Downe Bank, a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The park surrounds High Elms Golf Course, and has extensive woodland, chiefly oak and beech, chalk meadows and formal gardens. It also has a cafe, a visitor centre, nature and history trails and car parks.
Hayes Common is a 79-Hectare area of public open land in Hayes in the London Borough of Bromley. It is owned and managed by Bromley Council. It is Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation, and a small area is part of the Keston and Hayes Commons Site of Special Scientific Interest. The common is an area of woodland and heath, crossed by bridleways and footpaths. Hayes Common is one of the largest areas of common land in Greater London, with 91.1 hectares of protected commons.
Saltbox Hill is a 22.2 biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in three separate areas in Biggin Hill in the London Borough of Bromley. One area of 6.9 hectares is owned and managed by the London Wildlife Trust. It is also a Site of Metropolitan Importance. It is a steeply sloping 55 acre biological site, which is close to Charles Darwin's home, Down House, and inspired him and provided him with a picnic place.
Downe Bank is a nature reserve owned and managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust in the North Downs, close to Downe in the London Borough of Bromley. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) together with the neighbouring High Elms Country Park. Located close to Charles Darwin's home, Down House, it was one of his favourite places and helped to inspire his work.
Old Park Wood is a 16.7-hectare (41-acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest in Harefield in the London Borough of Hillingdon. The south-east part is an 8-hectare (20-acre) nature reserve owned and managed by the Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust.
Mid Colne Valley is a 132 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Harefield in the London Borough of Hillingdon and Denham in South Buckinghamshire. Its main importance lies in its extensive diversity of birdlife in lakes in former gravel pits.
Ruxley Gravel Pits is an 18.7-hectare (46-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Ruxley, Orpington, in the London Borough of Bromley, and originally dug between 1929 and 1951. It is also a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation. It is owned by the Environment Agency and managed by Kent Wildlife Trust. Natural England has assessed its condition as "unfavourable recovering".
Riddlesdown Common or Riddlesdown is a 43 hectare area of green space in Kenley, towards the northern end of the North Downs in the London Borough of Croydon. It is owned and maintained by the City of London Corporation, apart from two small areas, one of which is operated by the London Wildlife Trust and the other by Croydon Council. An area of 32 hectares is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. The name Riddlesdown also applies to the local district of residential housing. A trig point at the site indicates that it is 525 ft (160 m) above sea level.