Harrow Weald Common
History
The word weald is derived from Old English wald, a wooded upland. Harrow Weald Common is one of the remnants of the once extensive Forest of Middlesex. In the 18th century it was a haunt of highwaymen. Following the inclosure acts, one of the rights granted to the commoners was gravel extraction, and this took place on a large scale in the nineteenth century. In the 1880s there was an attempt to get government agreement to the sale of the Common, but a successful campaign to oppose this was supported by W. S. Gilbert, who lived locally at a house called Grim's Dyke. In 1899 the Metropolitan Commons (Harrow Weald) Supplemental Act revoked most of the rights of the commoners and a board of Conservators was set up to manage the Common.
Harrow Weald Common is Common Land not owned by anyone, and in 1965 it was placed under the protection of Harrow Council. The Harrow Weald Common Conservators are now a Friends Group which manage the site.
The site
The site includes Grims' Dyke Open Space. Grim's Dyke or Grim's Ditch is an ancient earthwork which runs for three miles between Harrow Weald Common and Pinner Green. Its purpose is unknown, and it may date from the fifth or sixth centuries. Adjacent to the site are the City Open Space, Harrow Weald SSSI, a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest, and Bentley Priory Nature Reserve, a biological SSSI.
There is access from Common Road and Old Redding.
See also
References
- ^ London Borough of Harrow, Management Plan: Old Redding Complex, 2010, p. 18 Archived 2012-09-14 at the UK Government Web Archive
- ^ "Natural England, Harrow Weald citation" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-24. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
- ^ "London Gardens Online, Harrow Weald Common, Grim's Dyke Open Space, The City Open Space". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-06-24.
- ^ London Borough of Harrow, Management Plan: Old Redding Complex, 2010, p. 1 Archived 2012-09-14 at the UK Government Web Archive
- ^ Common Land in England, Harrow Weald Common
- ^ "Harrow Council, Harrow Weald Common". Archived from the original on 2012-08-19. Retrieved 2012-06-24.