Wormwood Scrubs

Last updated

Looking east from the south-western edge of Wormwood Scrubs Wormwood Scrubs.JPG
Looking east from the south-western edge of Wormwood Scrubs

Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs (or simply Scrubs), is an open space in Old Oak Common located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the borough, at 67 hectares (170 acres), [1] and one of the largest areas of common in London. The eastern part, known as Little Wormwood Scrubs, is cut off by Scrubs Lane and the West London line railway. It has been an open public space since the Wormwood Scrubs Act 1879.

Contents

The southern edge of the Scrubs is the site of two locally important institutions. At the western end is HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs, built between 1875 and 1891 by convict labour. To the east of the prison is the Hammersmith Hospital campus, which includes the relocated Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital.

Within the area are several sports facilities, including the Linford Christie Stadium, tens of football pitches, and a pony centre. Queens Park Rangers Football Club played on Wormwood Scrubs between 1893 and 1896.

History

Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) women at a 3.7-inch anti-aircraft gun site 22 October 1941 Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) women at a 3.7-inch anti-aircraft gun site at Wormwood Scrubs in London, 22 October 1941. H14878.jpg
Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) women at a 3.7-inch anti-aircraft gun site 22 October 1941

The area is first mentioned in 1189 as Wormhold Scrubs, the area was cleared woodland used for pasture for the cattle and pigs of the local manor. In 1801, the northern section was cut off by the building of the Paddington Arm of the Grand Junction Canal. [2] :35–36 In 1812 an area of 77 hectares (190 acres) known as Wormholt Scrubs was leased by the War Office from the Manor of Fulham. [1] This was in order to exercise cavalry horses, which until then had been exercised in Hyde Park, Belgrave Square and Regent's Park – then known as St. Marylebone's Park. This common land became known as Wormwood Scrubs. The London and Birmingham Railway removed a section north of the canal in 1837, followed by the Great Western line removing a section to the south of the canal in 1838. 1844 saw the Birmingham, Bristol and Thames Junction Railway slice off a sizable section of the eastern half, becoming The Little Scrubs. In 1872, the manorial rights were purchased under the Military Forces Localisation Act 1872 with a view to creating a military exercise ground. [2] :36–37 The Wormwood Scrubs Act 1879, which aimed to create a "metropolitan exercising ground" for the military and to provide the Scrubs for "the perpetual use by the inhabitants of the metropolis for exercise and recreation". Under this Act, the military were empowered to expel civilians from the area whenever they were training, but they allowed civilians free use of it when they were not. To ensure that it was kept as open land for all to enjoy, the act banned the military from building any permanent structures other than rifle butts, [2] :37 one of which survives today as a wall in the Linford Christie Stadium. 1873 saw the purchase of the southern part of the Scrubs for the building of Wormwood Scrubs Prison, and in 1889 an area adjacent to the prison for the building of Hammersmith hospital. [2] :40–41

In 1908, the Olympic Marathon route from Windsor Castle to the Olympic Stadium at White City went across the Scrubs. In 1910 Wormwood Scrubs became part of aviation history when a pioneer airship took flight from an improvised landing ground; The Daily Mail Airship Garage was built shortly afterwards—the site is now occupied by the Linford Christie Stadium. In 1914 all air-related activities on the Scrubs passed to the authority of the Admiralty, and there are records in the National Archives at Kew of a base here called Wormwood Scrubs Naval Air Station. The airship shed was used to train RNAS armoured car crews. [3] It remained as an emergency landing ground until the 1930s. In 1939 with the onset of World War II, Wormwood Scrubs again played host to an innovative military department—the Chief Cable Censorship Department, an outstation of the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park.

It was served by St. Quintin Park and Wormwood Scrubs railway station on the West London Line. On 3rd Oct 1940 the station was struck by an incendiary bomb and destroyed by fire. [4]

The prison is located just yards from the scene of the Massacre of Braybrook Street in 1966, in which three policemen were shot dead by three armed men after stopping their suspicious car. [5]

In 1986 local birdwatcher Lester Holloway set up a campaign to save Scrubs Wood, [6] the area of railway land along the north side of Wormwood Scrubs, from destruction as part of plans by the then British Rail to build cleaning depots (see North Pole depot) to service Channel Tunnel trains. Holloway and his campaign petitioned the House of Lords, [7] supported by the then MP for Fulham Nick Raynsford, and won concessions. The existing nature reserve includes an area known as 'Lester's Embankment'. [8] The campaign attracted considerable national publicity in 1987, and even a musical. [9]

Finances

The Wormwood Scrubs Charitable Trust, a charity set up under the Act of Parliament to manage this public space "for the exercise and recreation of the inhabitants of the metropolis", receives a substantial income stream from the lease to Hammersmith Hospital of a car park on its southern boundary. Other sources of income from the space include the rental of sports fields, advertising billboards, and two public car parks. The accounting for costs and revenues of the charity has been a matter of debate between the council, currently the charity's sole trustee, and the Friends of Wormwood Scrubs. [10]

Local nature reserve

Essex skipper (Thymelicus lineola) in Wormwood Scrubs Thymelicus lineola in Wormwood Scrubs Park in London, July 2013 (7).JPG
Essex skipper (Thymelicus lineola) in Wormwood Scrubs

Areas of Wormwood Scrubs are a local nature reserve. These areas include Braybrook Woods, Martin Bell's Wood and the Central Woodland Copse. Habitats include woodland (plantation), scrub and grassland. Animals include common lizards, over 100 species of bird and 20 species of butterfly. This site is currently being managed by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in collaboration with Groundwork UK. [11] [12]

Conservation efforts

Conservation work being carried out in Wormwood Scrubs by Groundwork London has been a subject of controversy among users of the Scrubs. The primary goal is to connect each patch of the Local Nature Reserve within the grounds by a wildlife corridor in the form of low hedges and trees.[ citation needed ] Ultimately, it is claimed that this will benefit biodiversity in the park and create better foraging routes for bats such as the common pipistrelle.

Habitats for the local common lizards are also being changed, e.g. by the removal of scrub to create basking areas. This work includes planting trees, and it is feared[ by whom? ] that this could jeopardise the open nature of the common. The bulk of the work is currently[ when? ] being undertaken by volunteers for Groundwork London, a government quasi non-governmental organisation funded largely through a levy on landfill.[ citation needed ]

Points to note

Nearby places:

Nearest tube stations:

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Wormwood Scrubs open space". LBHF. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Around the Bush (Millennium ed.). London: Shepherds Bush Local History Society. 1998. ISBN   0950942103.
  3. The Devil's Chariots, John Glanfield, Sutton Publishing Ltd 2001, ISBN   0-7509-4152-9 (p.58)
  4. "West London Line". www.abandonedstations.org.uk. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  5. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "Harry Roberts". YouTube. 12 August 1966. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
  6. "unavailable".
  7. "Channel Tunnel Bill (Hansard, 6 July 1987)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . 6 July 1987. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
  8. "October 2008 Sightings at Wormwood Scrubs" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
  9. "The Wild Side of Town". Ashleyhutchings2.tripod.com. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
  10. ""Cabinet meeting papers that approved the 3× increase in costs"".
  11. "Wormwood Scrubs". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  12. "Map of Wormwood Scrubs LNR". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 5 December 2013.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Wormwood Scrubs Park at Wikimedia Commons

51°31′17″N00°14′20″W / 51.52139°N 0.23889°W / 51.52139; -0.23889

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham</span> London borough in United Kingdom

The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham is a London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan Boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham. The borough borders Brent to the north, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the east, Wandsworth to the south, Richmond upon Thames to the south west, and Hounslow and Ealing to the west.

Wormwood may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fulham</span> Area of west London, England

Fulham is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, 3.6 miles (5.8 km) southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth, Putney, Barn Elms and the London Wetland Centre in Barnes. on the far side of the river.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shepherd's Bush</span> Suburb of West London, England

Shepherd's Bush is a suburb of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham 4.9 miles (7.9 km) west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.

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

Hammersmith was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in London, England. It was formed as a civil parish in 1834 from the chapelry of Hammersmith that had existed in the ancient parish of Fulham, Middlesex since 1631. The parish was grouped with Fulham as the Fulham District from 1855 until 1886, when separate parish administration was restored. In 1889 it became part of the County of London and in 1900 it became a metropolitan borough. It included Hammersmith, Wormwood Scrubs, Old Oak Common and Shepherd's Bush. In 1965 it was abolished and became the northern part of the London Borough of Hammersmith, since 1979 renamed the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wood Lane</span>

Wood Lane is a street in London. It runs north from Shepherd's Bush, under the Westway (A40) past Wormwood Scrubs where it meets Scrubs Lane. The road is wholly in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It is probably best known as the former home of the BBC Television Centre, also BBC White City and formerly BBC Woodlands the offices of BBC Worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Acton tube station</span> London Underground station

East Acton is a London Underground station in East Acton in London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The station is on the Central line, between White City and North Acton stations, and in Travelcard Zone 2. Wormwood Scrubs, Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital, Hammersmith Hospital, Wormwood Scrubs prison and Imperial College Hammersmith branch are accessible from the station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chelsea & Fulham railway station</span> Former railway station in England

Chelsea & Fulham was a railway station in Walham Green in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. It was situated between the King's Road and Fulham Road, on the present-day West London Line. The station was opened in 1863 by the West London Railway, and was closed in 1940 having sustained damage during the Blitz of World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Quintin Park & Wormwood Scrubs railway station</span> Former railway station in England

St. Quintin Park & Wormwood Scrubs was a railway station on the West London Railway on the border of North Kensington and Hammersmith & Fulham, West London. It was situated on an embankment next to North Pole Road, close to the road's junction with Wood Lane and near Wormwood Scrubs in what is now the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shepherd's Bush murders</span> 1966 murder

The Shepherd's Bush murders, also known as the Massacre of Braybrook Street, involved the murder of three police officers in London by Harry Roberts, John Duddy and John Witney in 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Wormwood Scrubs</span>

Little Wormwood Scrubs is a park in Kensal Green on the border of Hammersmith and Fulham and Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Counter's Creek, a now subterranean stream that arises in Kensal Green flows south through the park, eventually joining the River Thames.

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

Old Oak Common is a semi-industrial area of London, between Harlesden and Acton. The area is traditionally known for its railway depots, particularly Old Oak Common TMD which has recently been decommissioned. Together with neighbouring Park Royal, the area is intended to become the UK's largest regeneration scheme.

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

The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, an Inner London borough, has 231 hectares of parks and open spaces that are accessible to the general public, 159 hectares being within parks and 52.5 hectares within cemeteries and churchyards. Wormwood Scrubs and Scrubs Wood, located in the north of the Borough account for 42 hectares and Fulham Palace and Bishop's Park grounds contain another 14 hectares of open space. Private open space includes Hurlingham, Fulham and Queen's Club in West Kensington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hammersmith (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 2010 onwards

Hammersmith is a parliamentary constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It is currently represented by Andy Slaughter, a member of the Labour Party, who has represented the seat since its recreation in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Pole Depot</span> Railway depot in London

North Pole depot is a railway and maintenance depot built for Great Western Railway's AT300 units from the Hitachi A-train family. Located in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, the depot was partially redeveloped by Agility Trains from 2013 as a maintenance site when they were awarded the Intercity Express Programme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linford Christie Stadium</span>

The Linford Christie Stadium is an athletics stadium in Wormwood Scrubs, West London, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Oak Common railway station</span> Planned railway station in London

Old Oak Common (OOC) is a railway station under construction on the site of the Old Oak Common traction maintenance depot to the west of London in Old Oak Common, approximately 500 m (1,600 ft) south of Willesden Junction station. When built, it is expected to be one of the largest rail hubs in London, at about 800 m (2,600 ft) in length and 20 m (66 ft) below surface level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walham Green</span> Area located on the border of Fulham and Chelsea, south-west London

Walham Green is the historic name of an English village, now part of inner London, in the parish of Fulham in the County of Middlesex. It was located between the hamlet of North End to the north, and Parsons Green to the south. To the east it was bounded by Counter's Creek, the historical boundary with the parish of Chelsea, and to the south-east is Sands End.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wormwood Scrubs Act 1879</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Wormwood Scrubs Act 1879 is a local Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to lay down the conditions under which Wormwood Scrubs in west London was to be owned by the British Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Oak and Wormholt</span> Housing estates in London

The Old Oak and Wormholt estates are London County Council cottage estates constructed between 1912 and 1928. They were declared a conservation area in May 1980. The two estates were influenced by Ebenezer Howard's Garden city movement and the Arts and Crafts movement, which high quality external detailing and an open setting with privet hedges, front gardens and wide grass verges.