Tooting Commons

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The south east section of Tooting Bec Common Tooting Bec Common south east segment 2007.jpg
The south east section of Tooting Bec Common

The Tooting Commons consist of two adjacent areas of common land lying between Balham, Streatham and Tooting, in south west London: Tooting Bec Common and Tooting Graveney Common.

Contents

Since 1996, they have been wholly within the London Borough of Wandsworth, which has administered both commons since 1971. Between 1965 and 1995, the eastern part of Tooting Bec Common was within the adjacent London Borough of Lambeth. Wandsworth's Parks Department erroneously described the two historically separate spaces as Tooting Common for many years, but recent signage uses the plural title.

Tooting Bec Common includes Tooting Bec Lido and Tooting Graveney Common includes Tooting Bec Stadium.

History

Cafe on Tooting Bec Common Tooting Bec Common Cafe - geograph.org.uk - 1014322.jpg
Café on Tooting Bec Common

Tooting Bec Common and Tooting Graveney Common are the remains of common land that once stretched as far as Mitcham.

Tooting Bec Common — the northern and eastern part of the commons — was within the historic parish of Streatham, and takes its name from the area's links to Bec Abbey at Le Bec-Hellouin in Normandy. At various points in history this common has been called Streatham Common, which causes some confusion with the open space a mile to the east of that name. The common is not immediately adjacent to the area now generally known as Tooting Bec.

Tooting Graveney Common - the southern and western part of the commons - was in Tooting parish and a thin line of other common land ran further south down Church Lane towards the River Graveney.

During the 19th century, the commons at Tooting were divided by building of roads and railways — starting with the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway line in 1855, and the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway line running north — south which opened in 1861 and was further widened in 1901 after this had become the main line to Brighton. The common today continues to be divided into multiple parcels by these busy transport links.

Tooting Bec Common, comprising nearly 152 acres (62 ha), was one of the first commons which the Metropolitan Board of Works took action to preserve following the Metropolitan Commons Act of 1866 when in 1873 it acquired the manorial rights for £13,798. In 1875, the MBW acquired Tooting Graveney Common of 66 acres (27 ha) for £3,000.

The road marking the boundary between the two commons (and the historic parish boundary between Streatham and Tooting) is called Doctor Johnson Avenue. This was originally a country path leading from Streatham Place, and Doctor Johnson is reputed to have regularly walked here when visiting Hester Thrale. Until March 1970 it was called simply The Avenue.

Tooting Bec Common includes a number of formal avenues of trees — the first such avenue to be recorded was a line of oaks to commemorate a visit by Elizabeth I in 1600. With the loss of elms along Tooting Bec Road to Dutch Elm Disease, most visitors are now immediately aware of late Victorian era plantings of horse chestnuts on the boundaries, but there are some much older trees — notably the oaks parallel to Garrad's Road which are the successors to an avenue first recorded in the 17th century.

In the 1990s the junction of Tooting Bec Road and Church Lane was widened, encroaching on the common. A few metres of grass behind the railings of the former Tooting Bec Hospital (redeveloped as the Heritage Park residential development) are now part of the common in exchange for the lost land.

In 2016, there was a proposal to close Doctor Johnson Avenue and cover the tarmac with grass to make it part of the common. The proposal was overturned after nearly 70% of responses voiced opposition to the idea. [1]

Wildlife and ecology

Trees on Tooting Graveney Common Tooting Graveney Common - geograph.org.uk - 715919.jpg
Trees on Tooting Graveney Common

The two commons are recognised as being of Site of Metropolitan importance for Greater London because they include a number of rare wildlife habitats. Although the woodland areas are the most obvious, the unimproved areas of acid grassland are actually far rarer.

There is currently a consultation about the future of the trees on Chestnut Avenue - July 2016

The two commons were the location for the award-winning British Independent Film, Common People (2013), [2] written/directed by and starring Kerry Skinner and Stewart Alexander. The plot concerns a pet Parrot escaping the confines of her cage and flying with parakeets in the south London skies, soaring into the lives of the Common People.

The Commons are also the punchline of the music hall joke: "Q: Where is Tutankhamun's? A: In Egypt, of course! Q: No. They're in southwest London!" [3]

Related Research Articles

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Balham is an area in south London, England. It has been settled since Saxon times and appears in the Domesday Book as Belgeham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clapham</span> District of London

Clapham is a district in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streatham</span> Human settlement in England

Streatham is a district in south London, England. Centred 5 miles (8 km) south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth and London Borough of Merton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tooting</span> Human settlement in England

Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth and partly in the London Borough of Merton. It is located 5 miles south south-west of Charing Cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Borough of Wandsworth</span> Borough in United Kingdom

Wandsworth is a London borough in south London; it forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main named areas are Battersea, Balham, Putney, Tooting and Wandsworth Town.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth</span>

The Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth was a Metropolitan borough under the London County Council, from 1900 to 1965.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streatham (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1918 onwards

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Furzedown</span> Human settlement in England

Furzedown is a ward, in both the districts of Streatham and Tooting, wholly in the Tooting Parliamentary Constituency, within the London Borough of Wandsworth in South West London. It is a mainly residential area close to Tooting Commons, which provide a large open space including Tooting Bec Lido.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tooting Bec Lido</span> Lido in London Borough of Wandsworth, United Kingdom


Streatham Park is an area of suburban South West London that comprises the eastern part of Furzedown ward in the London Borough of Wandsworth, formerly in the historic parish of Streatham. It is bounded by Tooting Bec Common to the north, Thrale Road and West Road to the west and the London to Brighton railway to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Wandsworth</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hundred of Brixton</span>

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The Falconbrook was a stream that rose in Balham and Tooting, draining much of those parishes then the south and west of the larger district of Battersea including Clapham Junction to enter the London reaches of the Thames. Before doing so it briefly formed the border of Wandsworth Town, reflected in the SW11/SW18 boundary today.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wandsworth District (Metropolis)</span>

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References

  1. ↑ Council, Wandsworth. "Dr Johnson Avenue will remain open | News | Wandsworth Council". www.wandsworth.gov.uk. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  2. ↑ "Common People". imdb.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "Father Brown, 'Theatre of the Invisible'". imdb.com. Retrieved 29 October 2017.

51°26′00″N0°8′41″W / 51.43333°N 0.14472°W / 51.43333; -0.14472

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